Eclectically Unique: Try

So, I'm back!! I realize I've been AWOL for a good while so my apologies for that. Life's been a bit crazy lately working to get some stuff figured out but hopefully I'll start posting on a more regular basis now. Yay!

Earlier this month Colbie Caillat released a song called Try that created quite a buzz. Instead of a song telling girls that the key to being pretty is to be thin, or wear a lot of makeup, or be rich, or have a ton of clothes, the song says that you're pretty just the way you are. And instead of being one of those songs that says all the right things like that and then shows only girls who are pencil thin and photoshopped gorgeous without any makeup on, there are real girls in the video and not just teens, but you have middle aged and older women as well. I also loved the fact that, being a big girl myself, there was one big girl included in the video as well.

What I think is so cool about the video is that it's so simple which makes the video and the song so much more powerful. You have these women wearing their makeup and, yes, they're beautiful with their makeup on, but then you see them without their makeup on and they're still beautiful if not more so because they're natural beauty shines through. And then you have Colbie Caillat herself throughout the video taking off her makeup and appearing without any makeup which I think is pretty cool too.

This video just spoke to me so much. Listening to it the first time literally had me in tears. I've always felt that being a big girl I have to work really hard to try to look even remotely attractive. That generally means layering on the makeup so that when I look in the mirror I can at least figure I look decent because people are never going to compliment me on my body or usually tell me that I look pretty, but maybe they'll tell me I have a pretty face. I can get very focused on what people think of me and how they think I look even if I don't know them. Now granted I'm not as bad as I used to be. I don't layer on the makeup quite as much as I used to, but I still feel I have to be wearing at least some makeup when I walk out the door to go somewhere.

I've never felt comfortable with myself. I've always felt that I have to try really hard to be accepted, to fit in. And like I said, fitting in has been something that's important to me. I want to belong. I hate being the awkward person in the corner who feels invisible and terribly uncomfortable. Within the past year, I feel like I've made a lot of progress in terms of coming to accept myself and stop agonizing about what others think of me. I've stopped wearing the layers and layers of shapewear that I used to wear wherever I went. I try to keep my makeup more natural and less dramatic. I've started going out more, even going swing dancing again which was a huge step for me and, shockingly, there are always a few guys who ask me to dance. Do I look in the mirror and like myself? No, I'm not there yet. But I'm learning to accept myself just as I am. Do I still want to lose the weight? Absolutely and that's a work in progress, but I've discovered that just losing the weight isn't just going to make everything better. I'm not going to magically love myself if I'm thin. It's a journey to get to that point, just like it's a journey to lose the weight. I feel like I'm making progress on both fronts which is exciting and encouraging.

So all this to say, that you should watch this video and listen to the song because they're both fantastic. In this day and age when nearly everything in society tells women and girls that you have to be a size 0 and have perfect makeup and all to be pretty, this song and singer really stand out by not just talking the talk but also seeming to walk the walk. From what I've seen, that's pretty rare when it comes to celebrities and the like. Which is what makes this so special, because it actually feels genuine. Every girl, every woman, no matter how old or young is beautiful in they're own way. Never forget that.