Past Catching Up With the Present
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Did any of you catch Oprah on Tuesday? I recorded it & watched it later as I did some ab/core work. It was a show all about "makeunders". People that have gone too far in terms of make-up, hair and more. They all were really great stories but the very first one caught my attention. It called out to the many stories I read on blogs every day & even to my own life. We all have these circumstances in our lives.... when we are young & even as we age.
If you were heavy as a kid, many of you may have had the same experience as I had where kids teased you & made fun of you being heavy. Even if the comments were made as a "semi joke", it still hurt. These types of experiences can certainly stay with you life long. I know sometimes those hurtful comments creep back into my mind. I definitely know that they effected the way I felt about myself & whether I thought I was as good as my friends or other people. It did stop me from attempting certain things. Not all things but definitely some things. And to this day, I think the "fat kid" sits back in my mind still. But now, I think it is more that I want to prove I am no longer that fat kid they teased back then. I got on this fitness craze because of that & at least something good came of it in that sense.
With Dawn, in the before & after pictures above, she had this to say: "Dawn says, she didn't always look this way. "As a child, I would say that I was very much a girl next door. I was very shy," she says. "High school, for me was really, really hard. I was told by teachers that I wasn't going to make very much out of myself. It was a really sad, lonely time for me. After being told she wasn't good enough or thin enough, Dawn began to change her look. When she was 21 years old, she started working out, dieting, tanning and dressing differently. "People started giving me attention," she says." You can read her complete story here.
It is incredible how circumstances in our lives & how people act, treat & talk to us can so greatly effect our mental state, how we feel about ourselves & really how we feel about how good we are in relation to others. It makes us think we are less important than the person next to us.
But it also effects those around you... family AND CHILDREN! For those with children, I am sure you can relate to this. You don't want your children to have body issues or food issues or issues with liking themselves. In Dawn's case above, her children had to endure what friends & people all around them called their mother even though she was much different than her appearance made her out to be...
In real life, think about when you are out. Do you tend to judge others based on their appearance & looks? I think we all do at some point & it is as hurtful to them as it was to us when we heard the name calling directed at us. Have you ever had the opportunity to then talk to a person you judged badly & found out what a wonderful person they really are? I am guilty too!
I know many of you have really come far from these days & feel good about yourself no matter what. But, I guess we also have to step back & make sure that we are not doing to others what was done to us & we certainly don't want to show that type of behavior to our kids.
Did any of you catch Oprah on Tuesday? I recorded it & watched it later as I did some ab/core work. It was a show all about "makeunders". People that have gone too far in terms of make-up, hair and more. They all were really great stories but the very first one caught my attention. It called out to the many stories I read on blogs every day & even to my own life. We all have these circumstances in our lives.... when we are young & even as we age.
If you were heavy as a kid, many of you may have had the same experience as I had where kids teased you & made fun of you being heavy. Even if the comments were made as a "semi joke", it still hurt. These types of experiences can certainly stay with you life long. I know sometimes those hurtful comments creep back into my mind. I definitely know that they effected the way I felt about myself & whether I thought I was as good as my friends or other people. It did stop me from attempting certain things. Not all things but definitely some things. And to this day, I think the "fat kid" sits back in my mind still. But now, I think it is more that I want to prove I am no longer that fat kid they teased back then. I got on this fitness craze because of that & at least something good came of it in that sense.
With Dawn, in the before & after pictures above, she had this to say: "Dawn says, she didn't always look this way. "As a child, I would say that I was very much a girl next door. I was very shy," she says. "High school, for me was really, really hard. I was told by teachers that I wasn't going to make very much out of myself. It was a really sad, lonely time for me. After being told she wasn't good enough or thin enough, Dawn began to change her look. When she was 21 years old, she started working out, dieting, tanning and dressing differently. "People started giving me attention," she says." You can read her complete story here.
It is incredible how circumstances in our lives & how people act, treat & talk to us can so greatly effect our mental state, how we feel about ourselves & really how we feel about how good we are in relation to others. It makes us think we are less important than the person next to us.
But it also effects those around you... family AND CHILDREN! For those with children, I am sure you can relate to this. You don't want your children to have body issues or food issues or issues with liking themselves. In Dawn's case above, her children had to endure what friends & people all around them called their mother even though she was much different than her appearance made her out to be...
In real life, think about when you are out. Do you tend to judge others based on their appearance & looks? I think we all do at some point & it is as hurtful to them as it was to us when we heard the name calling directed at us. Have you ever had the opportunity to then talk to a person you judged badly & found out what a wonderful person they really are? I am guilty too!
I know many of you have really come far from these days & feel good about yourself no matter what. But, I guess we also have to step back & make sure that we are not doing to others what was done to us & we certainly don't want to show that type of behavior to our kids.
Does any of this hit home? Have you had experiences in your life that made you act or do things differently than you would now? How have you got past the bad feelings & learned to like yourself? Do any of you hide behind things like make-up, clothes or hair? Me, I think I hide behind being fit. Really, I am serious!
Posted by truth2beingfit at 2/18/2010 12:01 AM 
Categories: Life Experiences
Tags: challenges inspiration acceptance looks
Categories: Life Experiences
Tags: challenges inspiration acceptance looks
For a long time, I think I hid behind the very plain clothing I felt I was forced to wear due to my ever-increasing size. That's why it was such a big deal for me to buy that new outfit for myself now that I am down 100 pounds!
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I missed the show but am glad you blogged @ it. Great post. "Going too far" can apply in so many ways. Thanks for helping me stop and think about this.
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i think we can all agree that Dawn looks like a million bucks after the makeover. i've never been an "over the top" dresser when it came to hair/makeup. if anything, i was the plain jane tomboy with jeans and a tshirt. since losing weight, i do find myself buying more "girly" clothes and feeling more confidant as a woman, instead of hiding behind the baggy tshirts.
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I think I hid behind humor a lot growing up so people wouldn't see how much I was hurting.
There are times I think I would have changed something in the past, but now I have come to realize that all of those experiences (good and bad) have made me what I am today - and I am actually pretty comfortable with that. Wish I could have told myself that 20 years ago......
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Lori, like you, I was the fat funny kid when I was younger. Now, I can pretend to be more confident in a way with being fit but it is still a cover up for things.
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Thanks for your comment! Sounds like we have similar stories. I can't wait to spend all day on your site now
I did see that on Oprah. WOW! Those makeunders were amazing! I think deep down inside I will always be that chubby redheaded girl with upside down glasses. I am much more confident today but sometimes it's an act.
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I think we cover our hurt, sadness, anger, frusration, etc with more make-up and crazy big hair or whatever one does to make themselves feel better of to fit in. The problem with fitting in is that it's not always the right choice. Do what makes you feel comfortable and love yourself first. I'm still working on that but it's getting easier. Acceptance and love is key to your success and happiness. Great post!
Jen
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I agree. Fitting is does not solve the underlying problems & not always the right choice. I am still working on it too!
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Boy! This is my day for harsh reality. My past is in my face today! Need to look at that. My past, with way too many experiences, to share here have made me act differently until just this last year. I have hidden behind all my helping roles and my intellect! Time to really look at that. Thank you, I think.
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I was pretty insecure as a kid! I built my self-esteem by taking on reasonable challenges and succeeding one step at a time. That's why now I kick butt and give advice. OK, just kidding about the kick butt part. I leave that to one of your other posters
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Love that succeeding one step at a time statement!
I was super insecure as a kid. Makes now seem like I have all the self esteem in the world in comparison!
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I've always been really insecure but as I've gotten older that's kind of faded. I'm much more confident but at the same time when people make comments about me it gets to me!
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i taped/saw this show too! the trasformation was incredible, but mostly i found it to be very sad. that poor women and her children. how sad that the mom felt like she had to go to such extremes to get attention/feel good about herself. so much time and energy wasted on her appearance instead of being put towards more "real" things. and those poor kids living with a mom who does that. i hope other "overdoers" got the message from the show.
dont' get me wrong, we should all do/wear things that make us feel good about ourselves, but that woman was out of control. i thought she looked much lovelier after she was "done under."
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