It’s Not Vain To Take Care Of Yourself, It’s Good For You
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When almost all of us look at models or actors, we think of them as vain creatures – people who are too full of themselves and too into their looks. They are constantly flaunting their smooth skin, their toned bodies, their gorgeous hair, and evoking green-eyed envy everywhere they go. But does that really make them vain? Is taking good care of yourself nothing but vanity – a way to inflate your ego and show the world that they cannot match up to the level you’re at?
I was plagued with these very same questions for a very long time. For several years of my life (mostly my teenage and college years, when I was growing up), I never bothered to take care of myself. I let my acne grow in extremes and didn’t ever think of covering it with layers of makeup. I was pretty defiant and didn’t want to look like one of those made up plastic girls who, too, were quite proud of themselves. I didn’t work out either, and just let my body take the shape it wanted to. But what I didn’t realize was that this wasn’t some sort of teenage rebellion like I thought it was. It was me letting myself go, almost to the point of no return.
Pretty soon things started turning ugly. I struggled with the concept of self-love. Whenever I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t see a person I would want to appreciate. All I saw was a person who nobody really cared about and who didn’t care about herself either. Who nobody loved and who didn’t love herself either. That made me sink further into a state of degradation and I could never accept myself for who I was; never look myself in the eye. The only thought in my head was since nobody cares, why should I?
But then about a year ago something changed. For the better. I was trying hard to recover from a bad breakup and my BFF was helping me out. In one of those post-breakup crying fits, I told her I knew why he left me. I wasn’t good enough. In any way, to be honest. She just looked straight at me and told me quite calmly, “Why do you care so much about what others think? That’s beyond your control. Focus on what you can control. Take this opportunity to show yourself some TLC. You don’t need anyone else for that.”
I thought about what she said for a few days and I couldn’t help but realize how right she actually was. I realized that nothing really was stopping me from taking care of myself. I could get a mani-pedi every once a month. I could get facials and visit hair spas. I could hit the gym and tone myself. I had spent the majority of my wonder years feeling disgusted at my appearance and never even once thought that I don’t have to depend on someone else to love the way I look. I could love my own self. I never needed someone else to take care of my body, I could do it myself!
Over the next 6 months, I worked extra hard on myself. I started going to the gym thrice every week. I started taking bubble baths and doing facials and even treated my hair to hair spas and masks every alternate week or so. I also worked on my diet to make sure I was getting all the nutrients and minerals I needed.
Within just the first month itself, my opinion of myself changed dramatically! Now when I checked my reflection in the mirror, I saw a girl I could love, not just appreciate. I was hooked to taking care of myself, spoiling myself silly if you will, and the results of it definitely showed in my confidence levels as well! No longer did I feel like hiding in a cocoon and stepping out only when it was dark – I was ready to face everything head on! And it wasn’t pride that I had, mind you. It wasn’t vanity. It was just pure self-love and confidence.
So that brings me back to where we started – are those celebrities being vain when they pamper and take care of themselves? No, they’re not. It’s only when you feel good is when you look good. So, don’t let the world call you spoilt for pampering yourself. Don’t think twice about enhancing your body or your beauty for the better. You only get one body to live in and to love. Treat it like a temple and take good care of it. Do things that make you fall in love with yourself, whether it’s getting a nose ring or a nose job. Because, at the end of the day, a little self-pampering never really hurt anybody!
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