I did something today that younger Mika would’ve been horrified about. As I sat on my bed editing the latest post for my Instagram, I looked at my body with disgust. Utter repulsion. I was grossed out.
Thoughts that raced my mind were,
“there’s NO way my love handles are that noticeable,” and
“has my scoliosis gotten worse?” and
“maybe I’ll get a boob job,” and
“jeez, can I edit out pimples?” AND
“my teeth could definitely be whiter.”
Image courtesy of Mika Vickery
And I did the thing. I did the thing where I downloaded a photo editing app to ‘fix’ all of those features!
Want curves? Just pinch and zoom here. Bright smile? Take this brush, intensify the whitening and paint your smile. Pimples out of hand? Use this blotter to heal those bumps.
I actually did that. I sat there looking at the finished product. I was so excited to see the comparison and I did not even know who the end girl was. It was a girl who looked like all of the Instagram models who are actually paid to Photoshop and edit their bodies, and if they worked for that body, then the body they are paid to keep. This girl lost everything that made her who she was and everything that gave her the body she had. The body the amazing Lord our Father blessed her with, and here she was diminishing it and altering it to become a person she never knew. I took away the fat I grew due to getting back on a healthy eating schedule; the bumps on my forehead from stressing over school; the coffee stains on my teeth from meeting my friends in the morning to have life and Jesus talks; and I tried to straighten my back out from the scoliosis I was born with. It’s crazy how you can tell yourself, much like I did, that those girls on social media aren’t any better than you, and then you turn around and try to make yourself look just like them. I totally and completely wrecked my dignity and who I was all because of how I think a certain girl online looks so much better than me.
Image courtesy of Mika Vickery
Well, I’m here to tell you NOW FOLKS:
You are beautiful, inspiring, relevant, noteworthy, intelligent, strong, and perfectly made the way you are supposed to be. Those Instagram queens are all of those things, too, but don’t you ever stoop as low as to compare yourselves to them. You were created uniquely and you are you.