My journey towards self care and self love has been just that. A journey. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled to find my identity, choosing instead to attempt to imitate those around me who seemed happy and successful. You won’t be surprised to find out that that didn’t work. Shocker.
I didn’t realize my lack of self awareness, until I started to love myself. Shortly after Bastian was born(almost TWO years ago, can you believe it???) I had a moment of self awareness. I looked at myself in the mirror, saw the stretch marks reaching across my thighs, my linea nigra that had yet to fade, and realized that I could still love myself. But I am not just my body, and I learned to love who I was before I learned to love my body.
Self Care
I wouldn’t say I’m perfect in any way, but one of the most powerful things as I have tried to remind myself of my worth and become more self aware, has been self care. Self care isn’t always a bubble bath and face masks, but sometimes it IS, and that’s okay. When I put an effort into taking care of myself, I naturally love myself more. I see the value in taking care of myself. With clean skin, I see myself as valued and beautiful so much more easily than on the nights I skip my skincare routine. Lately, I’ve been loving my Burt’s Bees skincare line. Constantly throughout the day, I’ve been using the aloe vera facial mist, which has honestly become my new favorite skincare product. A few other favorites are their overnight cream, and exfoliating clay mask.
Relearning to find joy in old hobbies
Another way I’ve been taking care of myself is by writing! I used to LOVE writing in high school and college. It was a release, how I expressed myself. Somewhere between turning my writing into a career and now, I lost that love. Writing became a chore, rather than a joy. It’s been hard but SO worth it to shift my focus and write for myself at least once a week. Whether it’s a blog post on a topic I’m interested in, or just writing for the hell of it in one of my dozens of half written in notebooks, I find a way to write and feel joy out of it.
As a mom I sometimes struggle to take the time for myself I need and practice a bit of self care, but when I’m able to, it makes a WORLD of difference in how I feel and my tolerance for crayon on the walls after a long day.
I would love to hear how you practice self care and self awareness in your daily life!
This post was sponsored by Burt’s Bees. All opinions are my own.