I wasn’t always the girl on the beach who confidently strutted in her cossie. Like all of us I’ve had stages in my life where my confidence was low, my body shape wasn’t what I wanted and I worried far too much about what others thought about me. Sound familiar?
At 41 I was diagnosed with a life changing illness and instantly all those years of low esteem melted away. Breast cancer and all that it brought showed me that life is short and life is for living…truly living.
Sure I’m curvy with a few extra age spots and wrinkles, but these days I’m totally and wholly in love with my body. The truth is that people aren’t really that interested in what you look like, the person you are on the inside is far more important and leaves a longer lasting impression every single time. What others think of me is none of my business.
Seizing the moment, enjoying holidays and weekends and time spent with family is what’s important. These days life is different, I wear the cossie and love it. Sure a pretty pedicure helps and I’ve been known to get the help of a spray tan at the start of the warmer season…little things can make a big difference right!
I’d love it if every woman could fall in love with her body, sounds like a big ask but if we just switch the internal dialogue and use loving, encouraging words when talking about our bodies I reckon we can all get there. Nobody every complained about their stretch marks and cellulite when drawing their final breaths, I’m pretty sure those moments would be filled with memories with friends and families and feeling at peace.
Jen now has her own blog Styling Curvy where she inspires women every day in so many ways to get out there and be their fabulous selves. She’s not telling her story here on #CossieConfidence to push her blog. She’s here because we admire her so much and her story is the very essence of what #CossieConfidence is all about. Everyone has a different story to tell. Jen’s is about surviving breast cancer, numerous operations, treatments and emotional trauma that not only physically changed how she looked, but how she felt about herself. An amazing story. An amazing woman leading the way with her #CossieConfidence. Thank you so very much for sharing Jen.
Anita xx