Like most people today, I struggle with my body image. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but it is something I have to work on & deal with everyday. The age of social media has created many wonderful things, but it has also created an epidemic of the constant tug-of-war between body positivity & comparing oneself to others on instagram. During Halloween/October, it is not uncommon to see many people dressed in “revealing” costumes & looking damn good in them. It’s hard not to see those posts & think “Why can’t I pull that off?” or “I would look terrible in something like that.” I even see people getting angry at them & leaving hate comments because they are frustrated with themselves for not comparing to them in their mind. But there is also a flip side. Those looking good & wearing those costumes are often attacked or ridiculed for “being slutty” or “looking for attention.” I’ve seen an abundance of tweets this year that are along the lines of a picture of a sexy costume with the caption “$100 to any girl not wearing this costume this halloween.” Both sides of this scenario are toxic & bad for your self image. People not so comfortable with their body feel the need to compare themselves & make themselves feel bad for not fitting their own standard of beauty & those who are happy with their appearance & wearing what they want feel like they can’t express themselves & wear what they want in fear of getting mocked or ridiculed. What can we do to fix this problem?

We can do better. How can we do better? We push aside our own consciousness & support others. This isn’t one of those “love everyone! spread peace!” posts, but is a post about getting over yourself to allow others & yourself the freedom to dress & act the way they want. Halloween is supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to dress how you want for one night a year & not have a care in the world. It is not your duty to dictate how others dress. Just because you have a subconscious doubt of your body does not mean you can be mad at someone else for loving theirs. But, you are allowed to use that anger & better yourself. You should jump over your personal hurdles & allow yourself to dress the way you want & have fun, even if this only means taking the first step of doing it on halloween.

Bettering yourself is a process. There are a lot of steps in the process of being happy with who you are. This is a lot easier to write about than it is to act on, believe me. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to let yourself go & express yourself.  Wether that means going against your norm & wearing something revealing, or dressing head to toe not showing anything, it is all ok & all a step in making yourself a better you. I suggest looking at social media & being very aware of your stream of consciousness while doing so. How do you feel looking at those pictures? Why do you feel that way? What can you do make yourself feel better if you feel negatively towards a certain type of photo or how can you act if those photos make you inspired? Use the stigma around body positivity this Halloween to focus on your body & become ok with who you are. It is a tough road but you have to start somewhere.

I’m wishing everyone a safe & lovely halloween. Wear whatever the hell you want & have a ball.