MY PERFECT IMPERFECTION TAG

Most days I am talking about the importance of a sound mind either in the variation of self-love or self-confidence but sometimes, in the world we live in today, those things (confidence and self-love) are hindered by the 21st century standard of beauty. We all have insecurities when it comes to our bodies, it might not be earth shattering but every now and again the thoughts of said body parts are accompanied with “if only I had or was”. The perfect imperfections tag was created by YouTuber, AndreasChoice in 2010, and the basic idea of the tag is to features 3 things you love about yourself and 3 insecurities. So, I decided to jump on the tag wagon (but with an extra 1, so four of each). Enjoy.

IMPERFECTIONS

1.      My figure: For a very long time, I used to wear baggy clothes or layers just because I felt I was muscular and had a manly physique i.e. athletic build. What made it worse was the fact that those around me would “jokingly” say things like “ah see as you flat” or “wow your arms are so muscular” or “You could pass for a guy” and the fact that I have four brothers made me feel like I was one of the guys. So, you see me sweating and I have on three shirts or a huge sweater and you are wondering “why is this girl punishing herself?”. Right now, it seems funny but at the time it was a real struggle.

2.     My eyes: I have this thing called Nystagmus which means involuntary eye movements, and in those moments, I can’t really see anything clearly because my eyes are all over the place. When people notice, they tend to draw so much attention to it and laugh about it; “ye! Your eyes are shaking oh!” “ah, stop your eyes from shaking now it is freaking me out” and when I try to move on or ignore, they want to build a mansion of the case.

3.     Facial hair: how? When? Why? I have no idea, but for some weird reason I tend to grow beards, now if it was one strand here and another there it wouldnt be a problem but if I leave them for a week, boom it turns into a mini field. What makes it so disturbing is the fact that these strands of hairs are BLACK! I do not have black hair on my body, but these guys are like “Yo! Hello world notice me ”.  

4.     Stretch marks: now for this, no one sees them, but I am just like how am I tiny like this and my thighs be looking like that of an Okapi, it doesn’t bother me to the point where I am trying different products but still I still wonder how it manged to get there.

PERFECTIONS

1.      My lips/smile: I have an unhealthy obsession with my lips, they are my best feature, there is not much to them, but I just like them, initially I used to only wear lipsticks nothing more (but now mans has stepped up). I think another reason I am so fascinated with my lips and my smile is the fact that they are so identical to my mum\’s. The fact that my mum and I smile alike makes me so happy Lol.

2.     My size: I am very petite, even though my dad still hopes for at least an inch or two more on my behalf, I actually like being the tiny girl at 5’4. It has a lot of perks, being tiny especially for someone like me who enjoys disturbing others (it enables the lifestyle). But for real though being small is a beautiful thing, for me at least.

3.     My hair and nails: my hair colour is so cool, lol, it is a mix of gold and brown. I really do like it, it is healthy and grows fast. My nails as well, tend to grow fast and they are firm and white. People keep asking “are those your nails?” “what do you do to your nails?”  I always try to play it cool while being on cloud nine. I have a friend who is always so happy to see my nails, it is hilarious.

4.     Skin colour: funny story, in primary school I used to fight when people called me yellow paw paw or Fanta. Then during A levels, I had a friend who kept calling me carotene because she felt I was orangey and initially it used to bother me till I embraced it and was like see it is not easy to be looking orange, lol. But on a real note I love my skin colour just because.

These may be “non-issues” and I might not feel so bad about them anymore and just laugh them off, but these are things that affect people. Someone says something in passing and it sticks, then we become paranoid of these things.

We need to constantly remind ourselves that we are beautiful and perfect in our way, yes there is nothing wrong with wanting a smooth skin or getting facial hairs lasered off or self improvement in general, but do not in anyway think that the pimples on your face or the fact that your nose is big make you less than the person whose skin is smooth and has a smaller nose. You are still wonderfully and beautifully made.

PS: Those you so desperately want to be like have their own insecurities. You can not base how you feel about yourself on an image on the media.

STAY SHINING LOVELIES! 🌹

MODEL: Theblackscribbler

PHOTOS BY: Naomi