It is NO secret that women in today's society are bombarded daily with images of unrealistic and unattainable beauty and physical standards. Photo shop has become a woman's worst nightmare, and can make a perfectly healthy, beautiful woman feel like the least desirable and least attractive woman on the face of the earth.
If you ask a woman what she would change about herself, most would probaby say they would change their body in some way so that they were beautiful. But how is beauty defined? It is a debated topic around the world, as different cultures have differing standards of beauty. And what one may consider beautiful and/or perfect in one culture may be deemed unattractive or negative in another.
The age old saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...is true. However, how do we help change cultural perspective of beauty? How do we get our women to realize just how beautiful and amazing they truly are? The answer is not a simple one because I would have to state that it starts at home with how we teach our daughters at a young age, how the media portrays women, and how our sons are taught to view and interact with women. Disagree with me if you like, but that is just my opinion.
So where does my new adventure come into play you may ask?
Let me back track a little to tell you why this is important to me first....
Growing up I was never the skinny pretty girl. I was teased and mocked to a certain degree, never had the boyfriends or dates, and never felt beautiful. It's an all too familiar story that many women can probably relate to. I was told "you carrry your weight well"," you are cute"," you are good at sports", "you look better with makeup", and my personal favorite was when "meghan cantrell (my maiden name) is a lesbian was carved into a wooden desk at school (elementary school by the way). So my sexual orientation was even attacked at a very young age, and I didn't even really know what that meant for a while. So you see how over time, my perception of beauty has been skewed by some very unpleasant experiences. And I still struggle with it even to this day.
But one thing has changed.
My confidence.
It has not always been good, and honestly I struggle big time. Every single day. But one day a friend of mine asked me to do a Spartan Race with her, and I did. And I finished it with not nearly enough preparation, and I struggled through it but I finished. And the moment I finished, was the moment I realized that no matter how hard something is (and those are wicked hard), I am strong enough mentally and physically to endure and finish.
And then on top of that, I found a new group of women all with similar struggles, similar family lives, busy schedules, all hoping to make a difference.
Voila! Things changed. Big time. It was magical. It was like an aha moment of mammoth proportions. And oh my lord I had to hit the ground running. Never I have ever been so motivated or inspired.
It was time to do something with this.
A new passion was discovered, and it was in the realization that I could maybe, just maybe do something with this. This could be my opportunity change women's lives in such a positive way and help alter their own skewed perceptions of beauty. I could empower women to gain self confidence in a way they have never experienced. I could work to help other mom's get through even their worst days. I could really help other moms communicate with their own daughters differently all because they have a renewed sense of self worth, thus empowering a whole other generation of future ass kicking women!
And guess what.... that is a big damn deal.
There are campaigns with major companies such as Dove and Always working to empower young girls and women, so I guess I think of this as more of a grassroots type movement so to speak, but if by some chance, I was able to make a difference on this level.....I just can't even. I mean really, I can't even imagine.
Now I know I am thinking big here but seriously think of the possibilities! Think of how many women's lives we could change EVERY SINGLE DAY! By motivating them, inspiring them, appreciating them exactly for who they are! That is an awe inpsiring thought that by working with women to help them gain confidence & get healthier, they could walk around feeling proud, confident, and beautiful. That thought alone makes this adventure completely worth it. Every doubt I have, every fear I have, and every skeptical comment I receive makes me push harder just so I could do this.
It's pretty overwhelming to think of the bigger implications this could have but seriously, how cool is that?
Pretty cool.
xoxo,
Meghan
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