Register your commitment to #ChangeThePicture
What would you say to your younger self? What kind words would have helped you during the times you felt unhappy with your body or the way that you looked? What do you wish you had known then that you know now about accepting your body? What do you wish an older person or friend had said to you?
Feel free to upload a picture and share a message to your younger self here, along with your pledge to encourage body acceptance in the younger people you know.
Read below some of the responses from our community on why they are pledging to #ChangeThePicture.
Read below why our community is helping to #ChangeThePicture of body dissatisfaction starting young – and submit your pledge to be featured!
I pledge to #ChangeThePicture by...
"Talking to my kids at at every opportunity about how amazing bodies are and what they can do - not what they look like." - Melissa, NSW
I pledge to #ChangeThePicture...
"For the innocent 12 year old girl that didn't think she was enough." - Carisa, NSW
I pledge to #ChangeThePicture...
"By role modelling how to love my body. I want my kids to know that we are more than just what our body looks like." - Therese, NSW
To my younger self...
"Don’t take things personally. The hurtful words from others are a reflection of their own pain and fear, not your own failings in life. You do not need to shrink yourself to fit into the holes others have moulded. Your energy, your love and loyalty is unique and no one else will fill that space. When the day comes that fear confronts you and doors are slammed in your face, remember you come from love, you are loved and you can walk away with confidence and security from around and within yourself. Your intelligence and individuality contribute to your talents, not the size of your waist. You are capable of magical things and your body is the pair of wings that can help you fly, so take care of it and you will fly higher than you know. X " - Annabelle, NSW
To my younger self...
"Dear 12 year old Mel, You are so much more than just a body, I wish you knew that. I know you are feeling uncomfortable in your body because you’ve developed early before all your peers. The difference is that you are in a woman’s body while everyone else hasn’t even started puberty yet, but know, they will eventually catch up to you and you won’t feel like the odd one out anymore. I want you to know there is nothing “wrong” with your body, your body is beautiful just the way it is. I am sorry you felt the need to change it and develop an eating disorder which dictates your life for the next 14 years. But hang in there because one day you will find body acceptance and realise you are so much more than just a body. " - Mel, NSW
To my younger self...
"If I could tell my younger self anything, I'd say please don't fear your body changing or getting bigger when you grow up, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you and you don't need to conform to the thin ideal to feel safe and okay. Remember that thinness does not equate to health and only YOU know what's best for your body and your life." - Sophie, NSW
To my younger self...
"You’re allowed to eat however you need even if your injuries meant you weren’t as active as you were before. Don’t give into the idea that you have to adjust your food just because you aren’t allowed to play sport anymore - your body is so smart, It knows what it needs to do. You don’t have to look like her or be her... you are allowed to be you. The alternative to being you is an illness that will change the course of your life. You are capable. Believe me." - Ali, NSW
To my younger self...
"This happy, innocent child has got a long road ahead of her, but she will come out on the other, more brighter side... Life is worth so much more than being obsessed with the calories you eat and what you look like. In a years to come, you'll regret dedicating so much mental anguish and time to these harmful thoughts, when instead you could have been enjoying precious, short-lived time with your loved ones. Continue working hard, but don't be so hard on yourself. It's okay to take a break - you don't need to be perfect. There is nothing wrong with your body and you'll find this out eventually, slowly, some days easier than others. You will overcome grief, sadness, loss, and this illness. Some days will be harder than others, but you are strong - and life, the people you will meet, and the experiences you will have, will be more beautiful than any body size you could possibly be. You will be committed to fighting the good fight, and you will help #ChangeThePicture so your future kids will not have the same body dissatisfaction that you had. " - Zoe, NSW
To my younger self...
"Not you, nor your body, were ever the problem. No matter what messages you might receive, you deserve to take up space in this world. Be yourself, unapologetically. " - Korey, Vic
I pledge to #ChangeThePicture by...
"Being the role model that the darling girl in the photo attached, deserves. She deserves to have someone who believes their body is perfect for them, and who is able to live a life in a healthy, happy and content body; not someone who has been plagued by a hatred so deep that motivates her to deeply damage her body and mind." - Amelia, SA
A message to my younger self...
"Your life will have a lot of twists and turns, with moments of deep sorrow but also extraordinary joy. Whatever happens, being unkind to yourself and trying to 'fix' your body won't make a difference. Save your energy. There's a world out there that needs changing, so get ready to play your part in a collective force for the greater good xox " - Sarah, VIC
A letter to my younger self…
“Well, I bet that you were not expect this, were you? If you will allow me to take up a few minutes of your time, there are just a few things that I would like to share with you. You have come across the hashtag #ChangeThe Picture from The Butterfly Foundation. Now, your first thought was ‘what a wonderful idea! This could help so many people and those who may feel alone in their feelings! Let’s get straight to it and write myself a letter to my younger self!’
As time passed and draft after draft was written, more and more emotions surfaced. Some that were expected and some that were stronger than anticipated – especially when thinking back on your experience with anorexia for all those years. But sticking to the nature of this letter, I am here to share a few things with you that I wish that I could really go back in time and tell you.
Do not believe what the bullies say. Yes, they are in your face every day and they don’t leave you alone. Yes, all you want to do is hide in the school bathroom again. Yes, it hurts when they push you into each other and say mean things to you about how you look and who you are. Yes, it hurts when some of those people that you believed to be your friends try to convince you that you will not amount to anything and that they hope that you fail.
Yes, it hurts when a ‘mentor’ tells you that you will need to change how you look and the shape of your body if you ever want to do well in a particular industry. None of what they say is true. You do not need to be a certain shape, size, height or weight to be worthy of love and respect. You do not need to constantly feel the need to ‘prove yourself’ in order to be treated with kindness and human decency.
You are enough as you are and you absolutely do NOT need to alter what you look like in order to fit an unrealistic and unreasonable body expectation that society has deemed acceptable. My friend, the body in which your soul lives is not the problem. Your body is exactly that – a body.
It houses your soul so that you can experience this life and is made up of a multitude of complex systems that work day and night to keep you alive. Soon you will meet some wonderful humans who do actually care about you, and guess what?? They do not care about what your body looks like because that is not what matters.
You are so much more than a body and there is so much more to this life than what that body looks like. Keep kindness in your heart and be brave in all you do. Try to be the best human that you can be. You will find those people who love you for who you are. The size of the body that you live in does not dictate whether you are worthy of love and kindness because everyone is, no matter what.
Also, please for the love of God try not to inhale all that hairspray. I understand that it takes a long time to do your hair like that but it cannot be good for you. You know the hairstyle I’m talking about – buy a mask or something.”
From your friend, Jacinta from the future, VIC.
