That perfect photo will never happen. So you show more interest in staying behind the camera rather than being in front of it.
Perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect pose, none of this is ever going to happen. Do you know why? I know you are aware of it but you will not accept it. It is because you do not love yourself. You are forever critical of how you look. You go on and on about your crooked teeth, your hanging lower belly, your receding hairline, your facial marks, etc. Does this list end anywhere? You are always in search of your flaws. No, it is no more searching for you now. The search was long over since you are completely convinced that there is and can be nothing good about your appearance. You would not believe anyone if they told you how beautiful you are. Those people must have some cynical agenda behind their sweet-talking is what you infer. Don’t you?
You will keep refusing to be photographed.
Just don’t bother with what I say. Do as you please. I am not here to change anyone’s perspective of life. We all have our free will and choices. You have made your choice to believe what you believe.
Photo by David Bartus on Pexels.com
This piece is written in response to the one hundred and eighty-fourth edition of Fiction Monday inspired by the above picture prompt hosted at Void Thoughts by Vinitha Dileep. Do join in if you have a tale to tell.
The Bespectacled Mother 
Wow! This can be read as fiction or non-fiction, Anamika. I like how straightforward this piece is. This mindset is seen in many of us and you have addressed it to the point. Well done, Anamika.
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Thank you for giving me a perspective on this piece. Most of us have been there in the same space as in the post. The question is how successful have we been in overcoming this space.
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That line where you say we will never like our photos because we don’t love ourselves. It hits home. It takes a lot to accept ourselves the way we are and the world doesn’t help either. I agree with Vinitha. It can be read as both fiction and nonfiction.
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You are right the world around doesn’t help us with accepting ourselves as we are. Everywhere we see, the conversation is more focussed on what is wrong with one and what are the flaws with the aim of selling a solution or a corrective measure. Thankfully there is also discussion on self-love now.
Thank you so much for visiting, Nabanita.
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Remember, beauty isn’t defined by perfection but by the uniqueness and authenticity you bring to the world.
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful thought. I completely agree with you.
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I so connect with what you say – that we don’t like clicking pictures of ourselves because we don’t love ourselves enough as also the bit about the hanging belly (and other bits, I might add). A few months ago I wrote about something similar and unlike you, I couldn’t leave without doling out advice :-). Picking from my post, here’s what I said: I totally recommend clicking lots of pictures of yourself as a way of getting more comfortable in your skin. Of course, you need to make only the good ones public, but the others are a great way to laugh at yourself.
What do you say?
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I refrained from giving any kind of advice (or how I have transcended) in this post because I wanted to keep it short. I remember reading your post. You had put up a photo of yours in yellow shirt. Am I right? I agree with your recommendation of clicking lots of pictures until the time one becomes totally comfortable in their skin.
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Oh yes. You do have a good memory. Thank you for reading and remembering 😊. Hopefully we’ll hear more from you and how you got over your dislike.
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Making a lot of positive affirmations helped me, perhaps. And extending kindness to myself just as I would do to others.
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Hey, how did I miss this one!
Since some time now, I have been working on myself in every way I can, which includes reassuring myself that I look good. Different and simple but good. So, recently, I attended a wedding and I didn’t colour my hair or set it or anything. I just tied it up, draped my fav saree, put on a simple maroon bindi, my fav dangling earrings, and my mom’s chain and went ahead. Underdressed, as compared to others, but comfortable. I kept repeating to myself that I am perfect as I am. This is how I am and this is how I like myself. If someone has a problem with it, then it is their problem, not mine. And, surprisingly, majority of my pics came out pretty good, even though I stood out of the crowd with my simplicity that was in juxtaposition to the “picture perfect” appearances of my dressed-to-kill cousins in their designer sarees and jewellery. While I felt they all looked like a million bucks, I felt that even though I look different, I liked how I looked, and that’s all that mattered.
I think it’s what you feed your mind about yourself that decides your confidence levels and how much you love yourself. Somedays, the love and the confidence are high, on other days, it’s way low.
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You were happy at the wedding because you were doing you and being you. You dressed simply as compared to others but you were high on self-love. This is the ultimate thing. On days when your confidence and self-love feels low, remind yourself that Anamika says “Shilpa, you are beautiful, inside and out.” ❤️
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Aww..thank you!
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