New Piccy! Plus A Bit Of A Rant

I decided to put up a pic of your very own bubblygirl (i.e. ME) with my profile. But it's so small! Does anyone know how to alter the size? Anyway, that's me at my formal earlier this year. What a night! I loved my red dress from DJ's and it was a perfect dress for dancing! Woo! I will definitely be wearing that again when the Chrissy party season takes off in a few days time (this Saturday for me).

In other news... I haven't taken a stand on my soapbox for a number of weeks now, and I'm feeling surprisingly relaxed and happy (Note to self: not yelling= less stress! Love that!).
Today, though, there is an issue I feel I must address and I want all my bloggy readers to listen up:
We girls need to get over ourselves when it comes to our bodies. Our dangerous obssession with a number on the bathroom scales, a number on the tag of our dress and the letter and number on the back of our bra has got to stop!
As you can see from my brand-spanking-new pic, I am not super-skinny but I do have a healthy BMI and lead a healthy life. I actually used to be completely depressed with the way I looked and felt about my body but I have come to a realisation and now, being a girl who is healthy and happy with herself, I want to share it with you.
Six months ago, I saw myself like this: weirdly, like abnormally, tall; fat thighs; flat, boring hair; hideous glasses; chubby arms; fat nose; small eyes; boobs too small for body; big hips; no-one will ever love me; blah blah blah.
The thing was, I wasn't eating well. I wasn't exercising nearly enough. I was focussing on the negatives in my life instead of seeing the fabulous positives. I was being miserable.
So, I changed. I cut out crappy foods full of saturated fat, sugar and sodium (salt), I stopped drinking soft drinks and replaced them with green tea (yum!), I started getting up early and taking my puppy for a 5km walk every morning and I started appreciating what was good in my life. I felt great! My mood, hair and skin improved out of sight and I haven't looked back.
A friend of mine is recovering from bulimia. It was so devastating watching her go through this and keep it hidden from everyone except a few select friends. She was by no means overweight when the disease hit her- it was an absolute shock. But with some excellent support she is now on the road to recovery. She felt under pressure from boys, trashy magazines, video clips, movie stars and, of course, other girls, to look a certain way and she nearly destroyed herself in the process. Her metabolism is ruined, her teeth are weakened and she is very thin.

What I'm trying to say is, we've gotta look after ourselves and not buy into the perception of beauty that is thrust upon us. The campaigns in Dolly and Girlfriend are shunning that skeletal, I've-been-drinking-and-on-drugs-and-haven't-eaten-for-four-days look in favour of a healthier image (I particularly love the exercise plans both mags featured in the November issues).

I know none of this is particularly well-written or succinct but I hope I have gotten my point across. The terrible writing is due to two weeks of non-stop studying with breaks only to attend my part-time job. I had my last exam this afternoon and now I'm free for the holidays! But I'm slightly exhausted and my brain isn't keeping up with my thoughts. K, that makes no sense at all! I'll have a better-written post tomorrow, I promise!

Love Bubblygirl xox