I’ve been “body positive” since I first came across the term while skimming a thinkpiece four years ago. But for the majority of those years, I was not practicing what I preached. Of course, I still practiced self-body-love through yoga and juice cleanses, but there were still moments when I would think about my single physical flaw and cringe.
It wasn’t until today that I discovered true body positivity. As I write, I’m staring into a full-length mirror. I’m gazing into my own eyes, recognizing myself for who I am. And, finally, I can truly say that I love my body—and all of its flaw.
In an effort to encourage my readers and fans to join me in true body positivity, I am going to be very honest with you about my single insecurity. You can’t tell in photographs because I always hide it, but my right hand is 0.3 centimeters larger than my left hand. It used to embarrass me so much, but now I’m proud of my body. My slightly larger right hand makes me, well, me.
I used to be so anxious about people noticing my bigger right hand that I took up skiing just because it meant I got to wear gloves. The gloves became my shield, protecting me from anyone who might notice my freak hand while they were admiring my otherwise immaculate body.
Some days I wished my hand would just fall off. But now I can see that some of the best things in life come from overcoming obstacles. For instance, I went on to become the youngest skier ever to win an Olympic gold medal!
And if I had never won the medal, I never would have been asked to be a winter apparel model. Sometimes, they even have me model in a bikini (without gloves!) for the summer catalogs. Can you believe it? Me, a model, even with my horrible nightmare claw. None of the major agencies I now model for have even mentioned it! I guess they know confidence is all that matters.
I’ve finally accepted that my body is not perfect, and now I love it more than ever. I’ve also learned that my flaw is hardly even noticeable to other people! We spend so much time fixating on our flaw that it keeps us from appreciating other things, like walking in our first runway show or going on dates with famous people.
