I’m finally, since turning 30, getting comfortable in my own skin. My girlfriends used to tell me this; they used to say that it wasn’t until they hit their 30s that they came into their own. They got over their image and self angst *to the extent that one can* and just started to accept themselves how they are.

And it’s true. The 20s are so turbulent. You don’t know who you are, and you don’t know what you feel about things. And you also, as a woman, are constantly dissatisfied with your body. There’s also a certain search for the ‘right’ or ‘perfect’ everything.  Now I’m generalizing here, obviously, and anecdotally so, but I feel that after 30 you just begin to settle.

Settle, not in that dirty word way where you lower standards to less than deserved. Settle in the best way. Like unsettled water filled with sediment and therefore cloudy, your 20s are full of shakes. At 30 the water begins to settle. The sand falls to the bottom and things become clearer. It’s not about full zen contentment, it’s more about acceptance. Acceptance of what this life brings, and of who you are in all your glorious flaws.

As a woman who has struggled with body image, and general image, it’s been nice to finally accept the body I’m in. The body that is healthy and strong, and capable of many things. The body that allows me to experience all the things I set my mind to in life. And vanity wise, it’s nice to finally see the body and not focus on the flaws….because they’re only really flaws to our photoshopped society.

Here endeth the lesson.