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Supermodel Naomi Campbell Angela Philipps, Contributor
I was watching the coverage of Bacchanal Carnival on television two weeks ago, and the presenter asked a reveller if her feet were hurting from all that jumping. She replied something along the lines of, "Why would it hurt to be fabulous?" She and her friends then ran off laughing.
Indeed, why would it hurt to be an empowered woman, who is among her friends and having a fantastic time? I was bemused by this, as was the guy who had interviewed her. No one could possibly have expected the answer given. Moreover, it was uplifting to hear the words. Here we had a self-assured gal who was not afraid to let the world (or rather the population of Jamaica) know that she was extremely happy with herself. One can only hope that she feels this way all the time and not just when she's in party mode.
Would change one thing
Most of the women I know, no matter what their self-esteem is like, would change at least one thing about themselves. If you ask the question, you might get answers similar to these:
"I'd change my thighs." "I hate my hips." "I'd get rid of this double chin." "I'd have firm buttocks." "My hair would be straight." "My ankles would be thinner." "My tummy would be flat like a washboard." "I'd have slender fingers." "My legs would be longer."I was listening to BBC World Service on the radio last week and a conversation was being had with an author, who was talking about wishes. She went on to mention that having a wish granted was not exactly a good thing.
If you say, "I want to look like Marilyn Monroe," you have to be careful how you phrase it, because she is dead. And if you declare, "I wish I had the figure of Raquel Welch," you should consider the fact that she is now old and not so sexy anymore!
What if you stated, "I'd be over the moon to have Naomi Campbell's body"? Well, goodness knows how healthy she is. And really, the probability that these three women were/are completely satisfied with their bodies, or selves, is slim.
Beauty is, as they say, only skin deep. However, the real gorgeousness of a person goes beyond the depths of the epithelium, fat and muscles of our bodies. The truth is, if you feel attractive, then you are. How do we get to that point though? Does it come from the nurturing of our parents, the attention of men, the praise we get in the workplace, or can we conjure up the confidence all on our own?
Need others' approval
It would be nice to believe that we don't care what people think of us, but in general we do. In this day and age, we tend to need the approval of others. We like to be told we're pretty, smart, kind … and any other positive attribute that's humanly viable. This is not to say that there can't be an innate capability of thinking that we are simply wonderful.
So how do we achieve this? Telling ourselves each day, of course! Looking at who we are and being truly happy with what we see. And if there are things we don't like, then changing those we can and being satisfied with leaving the things we can't. The real cruncher is … being able to tell the difference! Sounds familiar?
The bottom line is that each of us, women and men included, should come to the realisation that we have a place on this planet that is rightfully ours. No one is above, or better, than another, and we are all equally important in the laws of nature. We should be singing this out and showing everyone that it does not hurt to be fabulous!
Email: angelaphilippsja@hotmail.com
