3 New Year's Resolution That Have Nothing To Do With Appearance

Hello my gorgeous fudgies!

As we start the new year, new year's resolutions are all the rage.
1.Get a gym membership
2.Lose 10 pounds
3.(something my creepy uncle told me, true story): Get toned to get more chicks

But a new year can be about so much more than your fraking looks, this is an opportunity to learn more about others and yourself. It can be heard, no doubt, with everyone's body negative resolutions clouding your thoughts, so here are my top 5 resolutions that have nothing to do with your weight:

1. Learn something new
Try learning Japanese, or Italian. Just a few words might come in handy.
Watch cooking videos on how to make that perfect omelette. (and then come to my house and make it for me)
Study art history, or playwriting, or the tattoo industry.

Information has never been so readily available to humans. No more library books that weight 38499 pounds to study Greek architecture, now you have the Internet! By becoming a more cultivated person, I promise your self-esteem will build, because you will sense that the person you are meant to become is in fact cultivated and interesting. Plus, those odd skills can be attractive to an employer. Maybe one day my random knowledge of Netflix entries and makeup brushes will land me a job. Doubtful, but a girl can dream, right?

2. Learn something new about someone else
Ask questions to your friends like : "what was the best year of your life? your worst?"
Make a new friend in class or at work by noticing their mood. "Something wrong?" "You look radiant today!"

Being interested in other people's lives facilitates communication. When people feel they need to talk, they will know you are the person to go to, for you've shown interest in their lives. And let's face it, not all of us can learn Japanese or Italian, because maybe we don't have time, or maybe it won't benefit us, but being a good friend is a rare skill that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

3. Learn something new about yourself:
Try a new genre of literature. You're more of a John Green type of person, try some Stephen King.
Try a new sport. Maybe badminton is actually your hidden master talent.
Try a new food. This may sound dumb, but after trying mangos, my life was forever changed.

The point here is that you are a very complex human being, but often times we get stuck in a rut, and forget to explore the unknown parts of ourselves. By trying new things, you discover your likes and dislikes, which can lead to further understanding who you are. Some of my ideas may seem trivial, because maybe they are to a superficial degree, but it's up to you to try the things you always wanted to try, but more importantly the things you never thought of trying in the first place.
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Here's the deal. We have many flaws, and resolutions can be the trick to push us to improve ourselves.
But why do they have to be physical? Our bodies are perfect just the way they are!
And maybe you do want to lose weight. As long as it's healthy, that's a-okay. But just keep in mind all the examples I gave you, because maybe one day you'll realize, after achieving your goal weight, that you're no smarter, or more interesting, or more important than you were before.
That's why appearance based resolutions just don't cut it for me.

xoxo

Gabby

The Perfect Bikini Body

Hello my sweets!

Not too long ago, I got an email from a diet and fitness company, which will remain nameless, asking me if I wanted to try out their new diet milkshake and review it for the blog. "Perfect for that bikini body", they said.
...Wat

Awn. Someone probably got fired, because as you probably know, that is the absolute LAST THING I would do on this wonderful piece of internet self-love this blog has become.

And what is the perfect bikini body anyway?
Is it this idea that we have of a tan, Victoria's Secret Angel strutting around in heels (in sand? really? I would sprain my ankle in 3.4 seconds), with legs that go on for days with, wait for it, a freaking thigh gap?
Is it the way our body looks when we pinch in our fat in "all the right places"?
Is it your friend's body, or your cousin's, or your mom's (if so, good for your mom)?

I'm so damn sick of this perfect bikini body bullshit. Here's why:

1. Perfect Bikini Body

I started this blog in 2012, as a dumb sophomore in high school, but if there was one thing I knew back then that still sticks to this day, is that perfection is stupid.

Here is Girl A, who hates her A-cups and loathes the way her hips jut out of her one piece. She's standing next to Girl B, who has an ass that won't quit and a soft squishy stomach.
And Girl A would kill to have that perfect bikini body.

But Girl B? She's self-conscious about her thicker arms, and she despises her wide hips. She's looking at Girl A, and thinking that she would kill to have that perfect bikini body.

...Do we see the problem here ladies?
Perfect is perspective, it's subjective, and if you don't believe that perfection is in you, no matter how many sit ups you do, you never will. 

 2. Perfect Bikini Body

I understand why bikini season makes some girls nauseous with anxiety.
It's the littlest bit of cloth, exposing everything you love, but also everything you hate about that lovely body of yours.

But loving your body is a process, and it may not happen overnight.
If the body in the bikini is not your ideal, make sure the bikini on your body is. 

Every girl needs a killer bikini in her beauty arsenal: one that defines your style, that makes you feel beautiful, that pushes and pulls and tightens and loosens all that "needs" to be.
Alternatives include: killer glasses, killer sundress, killer tan (safe please), killer tattoo or piercing (dont tell your mom I said that).

Whatever makes you forget about your silly bodily insecurities is a-okay with moi:)

3. Perfect Bikini Body

If you're going to sit in the shade covered in towels because your body isn't "perfect", stahp.
Distract yourself from that imperfect body of yours by putting it to good use.

Swimming, sand castle building, volleyball, frisbee, watergun fight, whatever takes your mind off the fact that half your butt is popping out of that cloth.

That's why you have a body, god dammit: not to fret over scars and cellulite, but to move and be active and do the things you love!

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According to Fitness Magazine, if Justin Timberlake invited them to a beach party, 36% of women would turn him down because they don't feel they are in good enough shape. 
And that is simply unacceptable.
Never let your body get in the way of your life, especially not JT!

You want the short answer to a perfect bikini body?
Put a freaking bikini on your freaking perfect body.
Done.
You are ever so welcome.

xoxo

gabby