Chapter 1 Express Yourself (and Don''t Hold Back) Strut Your Stuff You embody your own style. This may be an obvious observation, but often we find ourselves comparing what we see in the mirror to the women we see in magazines, on television or film, or even in our everyday lives. What we don''t see is what happens when the camera clicks off. Many of these women dress or portray themselves in a certain way that is not necessarily who they are, and imitating that should not be something we emulate when we already have our own essence. Our styles tend to shift and evolve throughout our lives, particularly when we go through major changes. A close friend of mine purchases an outlandish item when something drastic happens--a job is lost, a relationship comes to an end, etc. She uses it as sort of a reverse good luck charm, but I believe it is her way of embracing her beauty on her own terms. And let''s point out the obvious: Sometimes buying something that allows us to completely reinvent ourselves (which doesn''t have to break the bank) is a beautiful and healthy way to not only accessorize but expand our lives.
*** Affirmation Station I am not going to compare myself to anyone else. I choose to wear things that are true to me. I will let my own unique style shine. *** The Best Version of You Is.You! Every outfit you admire, every color that lights up your face, every pair of shoes you flip for--they all reflect you at your best, ready to take on the world. No matter what type of woman you are--hipster, supermodel, academic--you are absolutely correct. There is no right way to be. How you choose to show yourself to the world and what makes you truly happy as a human being is how you should be living your life every single day without hesitation.
*** Affirmation Station I will express myself honestly. I am never wrong in how I choose to be. I love every part of me. *** No Labels Allowed No one should make you feel ashamed of the things that make you happy. If you have been pigeonholed by one of these labels--let''s, say you are an athlete and love playing sports but decide to learn how to play a musical instrument and join a band--this is something you must keep in mind. Labels should not limit us from doing the things that we love. If you grew up interested in certain things but those interests shifted later in life, that is A-OK. As Marianne Williamson put it so well, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." Know yourself, and don''t hold back. Give yourself permission to find the best within you and let it shine without shame or apology. Nobody''s going to benefit from your hesitation--you''ve got too much to get done to keep your talents hidden away just so that others are more comfortable around you. Dare to be powerful. Try it out. All those clichés--roll with the punches, just do it, you''ll never know until you try, you can do anything you set your mind to--well, they get stuck in our heads because they''re true. So go for it! "You just have to look past it.
You look how you look, be comfortable." --Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar-winning actress known for her candid and honest personality "Don''t think about making women fit the world--think about making the world fit women." --Gloria Steinem, feminist journalist and social political activist who stood as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement of the 1960s and ''70s "I think your whole life shows in your face, and you should be proud of that." --Lauren Bacall, classic Hollywood actress known for her wide-minded views "It''s a tiny revolution to express yourself fully and be who you want to be, especially when systems tell you that you can''t. I''ve realized how powerful it is for me to just discuss with young people and begin conversations." --Amandla Stenberg, performer and singer included in TIME ''s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016 *** Affirmation Station I am comfortable with who I am. I will never apologize for being myself. I can be whoever I want to be.
*** "When I am putting looks together, I dare myself to make something work. I always look for the most interesting silhouette or something that''s a little off, but I have to figure it out. I have to make it me. I think that''s the thrill in fashion." --Rihanna, singer, actress, and fashion designer who has sold over 250 million records "Don''t adjust your self-expression to find an audience. You will regret it. It''s only fun if you are accepted as you are. And you will be, one day.
" --Yoko Ono, world-famous artist and musician who has influenced millions "In the last year or two, I''ve become more confident and more comfortable. I never set out to be a clothing designer--I was an uncomfortable person, and so I wanted comfortable clothes. Women have great power--our voices and decisions can make a huge difference in the world." --Eileen Fisher, fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded the clothing brand Eileen Fisher Inc. "To lose confidence in one''s body is to lose confidence in oneself." --Simone de Beauvoir, writer, existentialist philosopher, political activist, and social theorist who played a big part in the development of feminism Simone de Beauvoir Existentialist writer Simone de Beauvoir was the founder of the feminist movement in France. Her book The Second Sex immediately took a place of importance in the feminist canon upon its publication in 1949, establishing de Beauvoir''s reputation as a first-rate thinker. Although her brutally honest examination of the condition of women in the first half of the twentieth century shocked some delicate sensibilities, others were gratified to have someone tell the truth of women''s experience as "relative beings.
" Born in 1908 to what she characterized as "bourgeois" parents, she met the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in her early twenties in a salon study group at Paris''s famed university, the Sorbonne. They recognized each other as soulmates immediately and stayed together for fifty-one years in a highly unorthodox partnership, wherein they left openings for "contingent loves" so as not to limit their capacity for enriching experiences. She eschewed motherhood and all forms of domesticity; the duo preferred cafés for all their meals. They lived together only very briefly during World War II and had difficulty protecting their privacy as word of the trendy new philosophy they espoused spread and their international prestige heightened. While Sartre is generally credited as the creator of existentialism, de Beauvoir and the circle of leftist intellectuals that surrounded them were intricately involved in defining the movement. Her treatise Existentialism and the Wisdom of the Ages postulates.