As women, our bodies naturally go through changes over the years due to hormones, aging and having children. However, it is not always easy to accept that at some point, our bodies don't look the way they used to anymore. Today we want to share Ilona's story:
I am a mother of two girls of two and four years old. While I was pregnant with them, I felt extremely feminine. I had a beautiful belly and much larger boobs than before. However, after giving birth twice my body has changed: my boobs are even smaller than before my pregnancies and my belly is not flat like it used to be. It took me a while to come to terms with that, and I still struggle to accept it sometimes. My body has put two miracles into the world and I have been able to breastfeed them. I do know that, but it's harder to realize when looking in the mirror and noticing bras and tops don't fit like they used to anymore. You really have to work on changing your mindset.
This shoot is a beautiful reminder to myself that my body is beautiful just the way it is and that I can be proud of it. It has done amazing things, including giving birth to my two girls. I am happy with my body and allowed to show that. I think it's important that my girls know that a body is more than just pretty. It's capable of doing lots of things and worth being proud of.
We live in a small village, but I try to consciously expose my girls to diversity and don't keep them away from social media. Instead I try to make them realize that what you see online is often a snapshot of a perfect moment in someone's live, not the entire reality. And when I see what kind of things my four year old tends to notice about people now, I can only be proud.
To other women I would like to say that imperfect does not mean ugly. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. I think it's your energy that makes you shine that much brighter, not having the perfect body proportions or being free of imperfections like cellulite or loose skin.
We hope you can identify with the stories we're sharing. Curious about the other women's stories? We'll post them over the coming weeks. In the meantime, have you read our previous blog post about our perfectly normal beauty campaign yet?