Bluebird Chic ambassador Leigh Ann Atwell of Leigh Ann Atwell Photography encourages us all to get out there this summer, enjoy ourselves, laugh, splash and play with her latest project aimed at helping women to love the bodies they’re in.
Something has been weighing heavy on my heart with Summer upon us. I have become massively insecure. Hard on myself. So sensitive about my body. Which is crazy. I was to the point that I didn’t want to swim with my kids in a swimsuit. Then it hit me, why…? It’s MY BODY. My body that is never going to be shaped any differently. My body that my kids are NEVER going to pay attention to. My body that is mine, to criticize or my body to enjoy.
So….
I wanted to do a session with a group of women of all different sizes, shapes, levels of self-esteem. Some of these women were just as insecure as I am, even the women that we sometimes think have “the perfect body” can be insecure. So I put out an open model call on my personal Facebook page. I asked for models who would be comfortable wearing swimsuits and being photographed. I had fifty-two women volunteer. I made a private event and women started backing out left and right. But I wasn’t even upset, because I GET IT. I completely get it. I wound up with fourteen women that agreed to come.
I am so incredibly proud of them for stepping outside of themselves for this shoot. In early June on a hot summer day, fourteen women put aside ALL the thoughts (good and bad) and came together and showed off their BEAUTIFUL selves! They had fun and they laughed. They splashed and they played. This was an incredible experience!!
We as women, really have to start building each other up. Building ourselves up. Living in the moment rather than inside our heads. We have to remember to have fun and enjoy ourselves. And please, whatever you take away from this, get out this summer, ROCK YOUR BODY and enjoy the sunshine!
The feedback from the public was amazing (women were sending me messages saying they were out buying swimsuits for the first time in YEARS!).
But what was even better was the feedback from the women that modeled from me. I was so nervous that they would hate the pictures, but they didn’t. They loved them. They felt radiant and beautiful. They felt strong and empowered.
I’ll leave you with this gem I read about two days before this idea came together:
How to get a bikini body…?
Have a body…
Put a bikini on it.
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