Human over Perfect

Not every day is going to be a good day. This is something I have had to work to grasp, especially over the last few months. I have days where I get up at 7am and hit the gym, running a few miles, to come home and make a smoothie and drink a cup of coffee after a refreshing shower, before heading off to my 10:30 class after taking my deliberate time getting ready and not rushing. Later in the day I will have a salad and green tea for lunch; I will feel fantastic all day because I got that run in and had a great morning, the sun seems to shine all day, and then I will get all of my homework done and spend the evening doing something I enjoy with friends.

Hard truth: those days do not happen very often! Especially when you are busy and sleepy and have too much on your mind.

Yes, those days are part of my life, and often that is all people see in my life as well as the lives of others, unless they are very close to them. I have other days where my alarm goes off at 4:30 in the morning, I work a 12 hour shift, I come home to eat a bag of chips and snap at my roommates because I am so tired and I don't have it in me to socialize. Some days I drink coke zero and sit in my room and am not very productive because the weight of something else in my life is too much to handle coming out and explaining to anyone. Nobody's life is perfect. Nobody has it all together, nobody runs, drinks green tea & eats salad everyday. And if they say they do, I promise they are lying and probably have insecurities they feel they need to compensate for by pretending they are perfect. Nobody has it all together.

I feel like we all feel this pressure, especially on social media, to reflect our best side. Don't show anyone you're having a bad day, so post a cute picture to feel better. Don't get your thunder thighs or love handles you hate in your instagram picture, so pose a specific way to hide them. Don't show the messy stuff, because it might cost you, and no one likes to be brought down by your problems. None of these are true. People first of all love to see the authentic you, and if they don't then let them hit unfollow. They are not the kind of people you want in your life or on your feed anyway. People appreciate authenticity, being heard, feeling related to, all of which happen when you allow yourself to be, well, yourself. So post the pictures you like of yourself or the people you are with, share your life, however messy it is, if you want to. I promise you will only feel more supported and loved by the people who matter, and you might show someone else they are not alone in how they feel.

We all have good, green tea & salad days, and we all have bad, coke zero days. We all have imperfections, insecurities, and messiness in our lives. No one is perfect. But everyone is human, and that is so much better anyway.

you are blessed. you are gifted. you are loved and appreciated, just as you are.

mindfully, molli