#letterstomybody

Dear Body,

You are the house I live in. You reflect who I am on the inside, my confidence, health and happiness. The way I carry you reflects who I am as a person, and I want to say sorry for all my wishes and attempts to change you. But I know now that you are perfect for me.

Arms, I'm sorry I spent years wishing you were toned and slim. I should have thanked you for being strong and dependable. Without I wouldn't have been able to reach out to others or offer comfort where needed. Legs, I'm sorry for the times that I did everything I could to make you smaller. I kept you covered up in fear of what other people would think, but now know better than to worry about the thoughts of others. I thank you for keeping me up, your support, and carrying me always.

Breasts, I spent so many years  being ashamed of how big you are. It turns out you are the heroes. I now love you more than you know. Body, I'm sorry for doubting your strength. For enduring all sorts of pain and trauma and still being able to continue on. Forgive me for all my past bad behaviour. You have allowed me to achieve spectacular things, and I want to thank you most of all for keeping me alive.

Love me

Dear Body,

I am almost 23 years old and even after all those years I still can't respect you as you deserve to be respected. I always expect you to be in running order on a daily basis, yet I don't provide you with the proper fuel or rest. I then berate you for 'letting me down.' But I want to live a long time, I still have so many years to live, still so much to see and do, and I need you to carry me through.

I promise to change my mindset, to always be you first, and treat you the way that you have always deserved to be treated. Body, you are the only one who has always been in my life, and always will be. I need to learn to treat you better and develop a better relationship with you. So, I am sorry for the hurt I have caused in the past and I can only hope and work towards a better future.

Love Tegan

Dear Body, We haven't always had a good working relationship. I have always believed I was too big in most places and too small in others, so I starved you and forced you to exercise - even when you were to exhausted to do so. I thought my skin was too spongy, my scars too dominant. I believed being larger and frumpy made me lacking as a person. So I drowned you in alcohol and prevented you from experiencing anything worthwhile or beautiful. It would be easy for me to point my finger at our culture and our media as bad influences, but now I realise that I am the only one to blame. I am truly and deeply sorry for the pain I caused you. I blamed you for everything that was going wrong in my life, but seldom have I thanked you. I am grateful for all my senses, especially my sight, because I can now look in the mirror and appreciate what I see. I promise to give you the respect you deserve. Thank you for never giving up. Love me