I have a dirty little confession to make: I hate my legs.
I think I’ve probably hated my legs for as long as I can remember. My knee caps
are tilted to the outside so I’m a little knock-kneed. Ever since I was 9 I’ve
been self-conscious about my feet turning in (though I’ve pretty well cured
myself of that with years of purposeful effort). My legs are also a
little—shall we say—chunky. Oh, and did I mention that I’m a recluse who never
sees the light of day? (How did you think I keep up with all these blogs?) So
they’re also pale, with vibrant blue veins that would make a needle-toting
nurse squeal with joy. All in all, a very bad picture.
So maybe you’ll be surprised (or appalled) when I tell
you what I bought the other day: a white eyelet skirt that comes above my
knees. I almost never wear clothes that don’t shroud my legs in an
unoffending sheath. That day, however, I decided that it was time to face the
fear and hatred. And the thing was less than $5 at Kohl’s so who’s gonna argue
with that?
How could I be so bold and brazen? How dare I expose
those lily-white-knock-knees to an unsuspecting world? Simple—I decided to stop
taking myself so seriously. Honestly, who is staring at my legs (except you,
right now)? I’ve been watching other girls for a long time now, and I figure
that if they’re brave enough to show off what they’ve got then I can be brave
too.
Plus, there’s a deeper aspect to all this. When you think
of all the people out there who have been burned, tortured, starved, or
otherwise deformed, what right do I have to be self-conscious about my legs? I
had a look at what real knock knees look like and it shocked me. There are more important things to care
about.
What are you
self-conscious about?
How does that
stack up to real deformities and is it denying you really cute additions to
your wardrobe?
