It’s no secret that I am in love with Birmingham. I dub myself “Birmingham’s Unofficial Cheerleader” (at least until they create the position for me). What thrills me to no end is that I’m not alone. Birmingham is a city full of love for one another. We have helped launch hundreds, if not thousands, of books, movies, businesses, incubators, and more just from supporting each other in our endeavors.
Take Carrie Rollwagen and Amy Bickers. Active members of the Birmingham community, they decided to launch Kickstarter campaigns to try and publish books that they wrote. Success! Completely crowd-funded books by local authors because Birmingham believes in its own. Another great example is Sidewalk Film Festival, a local independent festival that recently had its biggest year due in part to thousands of Birmingham believers shouting from the rooftops how amazing it is over the years.
On a personal note, I’ve found so much support in groups like See Jane Write and Birmingham Girls Club, created to help other like-minded women find and build their own tribe. For example, I’m sitting in a coffee shop right now with a room full of other women, blogging and writing. My blogging buddy, Jennifer, and I put the word out earlier this week that we were going to be setting some time aside to just work on our blogs this weekend and invited others to come along and here we are. This is the power of our community, supporting one another even with no words and just the clicking of keyboards.
I believe in Birmingham. She believes in you. Birmingham’s got your back!
I’ve started this post a few times, and each time I’ve deleted what I’ve written and started over. I can’t quite find the right words to express my thoughts, but I want to get this post out so here goes nothing. By the way, I’m currently listening to my ‘Brave’ playlist while doing this post. I need it.
I have a very good friend, Jennifer, who swims with me each week. She and I have a lot in common, but one of our biggest differences is body image perception. She is rocking it in that department while I still struggle with it nearly every minute of my life. I am getting better though, thanks to her and a ton of other inspiring women in my world who are pouring out body positive messages and experiences. Jennifer has posted numerous pictures of herself in bathing suits. Granted, she is much smaller than I am, but that still takes guts no matter what your size. She absolutely floors me when she does it and I had always hoped one day I would have the courage. Well, this week I threw caution to the wind and just did it.
The response was overwhelmingly positive! It received more ‘likes’ on Facebook and ‘loves’ on Instagram than any picture I’ve ever posted before (and I’ve posted A LOT). I wasn’t scared of negative backlash, though I knew it would be there. I wasn’t scared of the response at all – I posted it for me, not anyone else. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Posting that picture took more courage than I think I had ever mustered in my life and you know what? It turned out to be nothing! I didn’t break the internet (from people closing their mobile devices, apps, or computers) and it didn’t do anything other than build me up. I was completely floored and touched by the words of love, kindness, acceptance, and gratitude that I received – from both women AND men – thanking me for posting it and reminding them to love themselves more.
The point of this post was not to brag about what I did or all the words of love I received – it’s to tell you that your biggest fear or shame likely isn’t that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. I haven’t worn shorts in over 10 years in public because of how I feel about my legs and not wanting to subject others to them. I haven’t worn a 2 piece bathing suit in probably 20 years. I barely wear a one piece and that’s usually once a year to go to a private pool. I don’t want people to see my body, I don’t want to be judged for my stretch marks, my cellulite, or my girth. I don’t want other people to have to look at that. You know what? The more I am around the true, very real, awe-inspiring Birmingham Girls Club and my friends, the more I realize I am just like everyone else. We all have our imperfections that we want to hide, but these women are not hiding them. They are just being themselves and loving who they are, flaws and all. These women, along with Jennifer and more, are really helping me let go of all my hang ups so I can just be me. There aren’t enough words to let them know how much they have helped me and how much I appreciate them, but I’ll continue trying. We’ll continue rocking our respective worlds with self-love, body positive messages, and acceptance. And to all those wonderful friends and strangers who commented on my post on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, thank you for your words. You have no idea how they touched me and truly helped change my life. And thanks to their support, I just bought my first 2 piece bathing suit in over 20 years along with 2 pairs of shorts. Take THAT!
This week my life was filled with amazing women. Many of them, from all walks of life, some new friends, some old friends, and all fun. Thursday evening I attended the Bloganista Mixer with a plethora of fellow women writers and want-to-be-writers (me!). Our fearless leader, Javacia, has been knocking it out of the park since I met her a few years ago seeing The First Lady (it was our first date!) and she hasn’t stopped. She founded and runs an amazing group called See Jane Write for women writers and next Saturday, she is putting on the Bloganista Mini-Con – an all day conference for bloggers and boss ladies. The mixer this past Thursday was a nice time to mingle with fellow attendees, speakers, and panelists while shopping at the best consignment shop in Birmingham, Collage Consignment. I left inspired and with a perfect, cheap dress for the beach next month.
Yesterday, the Birmingham Girls Club was privileged to be invited by BGC member Julia to her family’s place on Yellow Creek. It was a family fun event with lots of amazing food, floats, boats, and laughs. About eight BGC members made the trek, with their families, to a beautiful house on the lake complete with 2 levels, a huge deck and pier, lovely pontoon boat, and more water noodles than you could shake a stick at. We spent the day chatting about life, love, body hair, and so much more. The beautiful women of BGC got a chance to talk in depth in an extremely relaxing environment while also getting to know significant others, which we rarely get to do. After returning from the lake, I then spent with a few more gorgeous gals – pictures below. I hope you had an equally inspiring and relaxing weekend. You deserve it! What did you do to take care of you this weekend?
1. I know it’s not Tuesday, but I had a late night and missed yesterday’s post for #bloglikecrazy. So HERE IT IS! We’ll just pretend it’s still Tuesday. There’ll be another post later today for WEDNESDAY!
2. I’m borrowing this phrase from my friend Marlene who posts these every Tuesday on Facebook: Truthbook Tuesday™. Every Tuesday she posts some very real truths about whatever might be on her mind at the moment…some happy, some mad, some sad, and everything in between. She also invites her readers to share their truths in the Comments section. So, here we go!
Truthbook Tuesday™ – YouGotRossed edition
My favorite pair of underwear has Hello Kitty on them and my 2nd favorite pair has cowboys all over them.
I would wear Underoos IN A HEARTBEAT if they still made them and made them in my size.
My favorite thing to eat is seafood – namely scallops, crab, and shrimp. All day, err day!
I’m learning about my chakras RIGHT NOW thanks to these gals.
I’ve always wanted to buy an old VW “bus” and travel the country like gypsies, wearing long, flowy skirts, flowers in my hair, playing a guitar.
On a more serious note, last night at the Birmingham Girls Club holiday party, I was stunned when one of the ladies shared that she was a sexual abuse survivor..someone that I thought I knew pretty well. I am betting there are so many more of my lovely friends – men and women – who are, too. Please know that although I am not licensed in any way, if you ever need someone to talk to or need help finding out where to turn, please call me day or night. There are a ton of resources at our disposal – a lot just within the BGC. And friend, I wanted to thank you for sharing that revelation last night with those you knew and those you didn’t. Here’s my truth: I am too.
That song (by Montell Jordan) came on last night during our monthly Birmingham Girls Club social at Do It Yourself Crafts where we painted holiday ornaments to donate to a women & children’s shelter. I like to put my “Bust A Move” station on Pandora during BGC social events where we’re being creative. It’s fun to watch the gals sing along, dance in their seats, or just get up and bust a move…which happened quite a bit last night.
Today’s #bloglikecrazy post asks us to write a “How To” piece. While I’m all for teaching someone something, I’m not a fan of writing instruction pieces. I think partly because we had to do it so many times in college during Communications class and I kept getting red marks on my papers though I thought I did well. Ha! No. So after umpteen papers, I’m over it. Also, because I have to do it at work A LOT. So, here is my How To for today. I’m swiping it from someone else. Because I can. Thank you CorePHP.
Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.
