Look, I get it. You see a person like me, and you think, “She really has it all.” And for the most part, you’re right – I’m a conventionally attractive white woman, with a gorgeous husband and two kids, a fulfilling job, and rewarding hobbies. What more could a girl ask for, right? Well, if you’re feeling inadequate or not good enough, let me just remind you that we’re all fighting invisible battles – for example: You can’t see it, but my socks are sliding down right now.
And keeping that inside really hurts.
You see, maintaining this perfect image can be a stress all of its own. The effort that goes into looking like life is easy and flawless forces me up early in the morning for daunting workouts, and late at night with an equally daunting moisturizing routine. But like all the stuff that you don’t really see on Instagram, my very expensive socks have gotten so loose that they are slowly approaching my ankles right now, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it.
You just have no idea what other people are going through when you’re not looking.
And even so-called “perfect” people like me have insecurities: I often wonder if people don’t like me or think I’m stuck up, or if people can see the large bump forming at the bottom of my shin because my very thick socks have decided to betray me. These are the things that haunt me daily.
Now you might be wondering, “She’s rich, why doesn’t she just buy new socks?” Well, these are new socks. They were given to me for free because I’m an influencer, and now I have to promote them on my social channels. How do you think that feels, having to lie to people with a smile on my face in order to make barely enough to afford a new car? Sometimes you just have to put on a face and deal with it.
Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?
So as these socks have seemed to lose all elasticity and formed a thick, loose tube inside my boots, exposing my legs to the cold, hard Italian leather, I just want you to know that the discomfort I feel may be nothing compared to others (some people can’t even afford real leather!), but it’s a struggle that will affect the rest of my day before I ultimately throw these socks out and buy new ones.
I just hope this helps at least one person be a little more empathetic to the wealthy, beautiful influencers around them – because we’re all fighting our own sock-related battles, aren’t we?
