A homework assignment.

I had an assignment due last night to make a webpage showing off some basic JavaScript and AJAX. This is nothing new, with my classes I have an assignment due every night, and I do a pretty good job of meeting those deadlines. Now while you can just do the basic bare-bones site just to show you know the technique there are significant points rewarded for design and creativity. Now being a Graphic Designer and working on getting my bachelors in Multimedia and Interactive Technology I embrace the challenge of coming up with new creative ideas for each assignment. I have to admit there are days where I simply struggle with a new idea and yesterday was one of those days. I was so tempted to just hand in my assignment completely plain and simple, and I almost did but then I took a pinterest break and was delighted to see some great FA inspired pins amongst all the other ones and it inspired me to do a little site on steps a person can take to loving what they see in the mirror.

I was really happy with the results, and was excited to hand it in and spread the FA message to my classmates and professor who have to look at it in order to critique it and do their jobs :-)  sneaky ? Yes! Fun? Definitely!  I find I often do projects or assignments with an FA message because it is something that has meant so much to me and I want to share it with others, maybe someone will see something that really opens their eyes.

Go to the Loving Yourself Website!

Anyway I thought I would share this with you all, feel free to pass it along as I plan to keep the site up and maybe even add to it in the future. Hope it inspires you like it did me!

Thrown Away

The following is a story I wrote long ago but still hold dear to this day. 

He stood back, a silent observer, watching people pick out their packages a knowing smile washing over his face. His eyes kept wandering over to one particular package and His smile would brighten. Shuffling with excitement and glancing around hoping to see who would chose that one. Years past by and day after day The Man would watch the goings on always keeping an eye on that untouched package. From time to time his eyes would brighten then sadden as he watched the package being picked up, or bumped around, once or twice it was even picked up and taken away only to be returned later after someone had dropped it.

Finally one day it happened, someone picked it up, The Man beamed as he watched it being carried away, but then his face fell and he stepped forward quickly.

"Are you just going to throw that away" He asked worry very evident in his voice.

The worker he had spoken to turned with a start, unaware that anyone else was around, he shot a glance at the dumpster where the package had just been thrown. "What else can we do with it? It is worthless, unsellable"

"Sir why would you say that, why just throw it away, do you even know what it is?"

"Well no but look, no one wants it, look at it it is scratched and dented, and way to big a model for anyone to want these days, look at this package.... it is trash"

"I made that, I crafted it carefully, and I put it in that package to keep it safe. Yes it is damaged, and yes it is bigger then alot of the other packages in here, but it is most certainly not trash, why won't someone give it a chance?" The Man moved towards the dumpster looking in, a look of compassion on his face. "Won't you give it a chance?"

"Look there is no point, no one will want that piece of junk, look around buddy, there are so many more beautiful packages. Honestly who cares what is inside that stupid thing, it is the package that sells, that is what people get to show off to others, THAT is what matters... look you can have that junk if it is so important to you, but I am just saying how it is" Turning on his heel the worker started to walk away glancing back to see The Man tenderly lifting the package from the trash.

Slightly curious at what could be in that horrid package he watched from the corner of his eye as The Man gingerly set it on the floor and then started to open the package gently.

A gasp tore through the workers throat as he saw what was contained in that package, Radiant beams danced from the contents inside, his eyes blurred, and crossed as he tried to take in the amazing treasure that had been inside that box. "What have I done? What did I throw away? I just lost the most precious thing, How was I to know?

The worker sat there watching as The Man cradled the treasure in His Arms and heard Him speak gently to it. "Don't worry my child, there will be someone who can see you through my eyes, they will be the one who deserves a such a treasure, they will be the one I have created for you.

You just can't escape the fat hate.

So I joined Pinterest a few days ago and I have really been enjoying it. For those of you who haven't heard of it yet Pinterest is a social networking site that works by pinning images onto "boards" which is basically just a group of similar pins that share the same topic or idea. Once you have "pinned" something to a board it attaches a picture or video along with a little comment or description of the thing you pinned and if you click on it it will bring you back to that page. Some of the main categories are home, recipes, crafts, fashion, and so forth. It is a quick visual way to group things that you see while surfing the internet and being that I am a very visual person it works well for me. I also like being able to follow my friends and family who are also on Pinterest and see things that they post. I have found that my second oldest sister and I actually have a bit in common in regards to what we like and that is a neat thing to know.

Anyway I have really been enjoying it but last night I got quite frustrated with a common theme that was popping up as I was browsing other people pins. That theme was fat hate, thinspiration, body snarking,  or diet propaganda and all that jazz. Now I am not surprised at all to see it there, what did surprise and hurt me the most is who I saw it from. Seeing those pins from people I love and care about, and whom I am close to, hurt a lot and made me wonder if that is how they also see me. Seeing or hearing how awful fat is, how badly they want to get rid of it, and how much they despise or fear it,  from close friends or relatives in my life made me start wondering about our relationship. If they feel that way about fat how can they separate that from me when I AM a fat woman. It really made me think and examine some of my relationships.

Now while that was a sad thing to see and ponder I have to say it was also nice to see fat/size positive pins from people, pins about HAES and speaking up against the fat hate. We need more of that to keep popping up and I truly believe that the more people see and become familiar with the fat positive message the easier it will become to help show what we are all about. I think that every little post, pin, or other kind with a fat/size acceptance kind of message helps to plants seeds in people that will get them to find out more or be more open to hearing about it in the future. So while it is true you really can't escape all those negative messages unless you sequestered yourself into a padded room, I think we can all fight back against those messages by sprinkling positive ones where-ever we can.

Do any of you have pinterest accounts? What do you think about it? What kinds of things, or methods could we do to spread a positive message about size and fat? I would love to begin to pin as much FA/HAES and body positivity messages as I can so if you know of something that would make a great thing to pin along those lines please leave a link here.They may seem like little drops in the sea of fate hate we face, but I think they can make a difference.

You are all awesome!

I came across the site AwesomenessReminders the other day and it instantly made me smile. AwesomenessReminders is a simple idea, you sign up for a monthly cost and they provide a phone call everyday just to tell you or someone you love that they are awesome. If they don't reach a person they leave the message in voicemail. How cute is that?

Now you can have all of the calls go to you, or you can schedule the calls to go to other people on certain days. Such a simple idea but wow what a great one, I think receiving a call from someone just to tell you that you are awesome would really have an impact on people. So often we are bombarded with a ton of messages that tell us how imperfect we are, how we need to do this or that to even be acceptable, and it has become very uncommon to hear that hey you are ok just the way you are and actually you are quite awesome.

This site just made me smile because it is a little drop of a positive message in the deluge of negativity we deal with. Who doesn't need to hear that we are ok, it kind of reminds me of the daily affirmation skit on Saturday Night Live. Now say it with me folks ...

Because I'm good enough.. I'm smart enough.. 

and, doggonit, people like me!

I AM AWESOME!

Dear You... YES YOU!!!!

Dear Anyone who finds it hard to love themselves AS THEY ARE,

You are positively BEAUTIFUL!

I love the freckles on your nose, they bring out the colors in your eyes. Your hair frames your face perfectly. Your laugh is contagious and you will always make me smile.

Those scars on your knees? They show me you have fallen. The sparkle in your eyes when you smile? They show me you picked yourself up. Your smile is drop dead gorgeous, wear it more often. Seriously, think about who CARES, that you have acne. WHO really cares if you're overweight or underweight, tall or short, tan or pale, an A cup or a HH cup?

All that matters it that someone thinks that you are beautiful just the way you are and that someone is me. I wish you could love yourself the way I love you, the way your family loves you, the way your friends love you. The ones who care about all that superficial crap really don't matter in the grand scheme of life, and the ones who DO matter see all the "flaws" with eyes of love and love them because it is part of what makes you so special to them.

My greatest wish for all of you
is that you can see yourself through the eyes
of those who love you,
all of you,
just the way you are!

~ Love ,
Me

Fat IS beautiful through Art!

A few weeks ago there was a post on Fat Heffalump's blog about Fat Acceptance in art and it really got me thinking. About 3 years ago I stumbled upon this most amazing art that featured beautiful FAT people. This was the first time I had really ever seen people in sizes and shapes closer to mine portrayed in a beautiful, kind, caring, and loving light and it absolutely floored me!! This was the first time it ever hit me that some people actually do find fat people good looking, and that someone could maybe find me pretty or not that hideous as well. This began my journey of Size Acceptance, and the even more personal aspect of beginning to see myself as a beautiful, and worthwhile human being. So being that art has had such a HUGE impact on my life and I really want to share it with others so that they can begin to see beauty in all shapes, even if it doesn't fit with society's norm. So I will be posting regularly with different art and artist's who are making a difference in the scenery of beautiful!

The first artist I want to highlight and applaud is Rachel Marsh AKA Comethime she is also has a great size acceptance blog and her art has really had an impact on how I see myself and is one reason why I can now look in the mirror and see something beautiful. I encourage you to explore the artists I will be highlighting, I also think that it is important to support and encourage these artists because the work they do helps to further the Size Acceptance movement. These artists often struggle financially because it is just hard to make a stable living as an artist so the work they do is often done because they care and truly love the beauty of fat.

The first piece I saw of hers was:

Link It was beautiful in so many ways, I loved the dress and the stars, and she was fat AND beautiful. WOW.

A Few of my other faves are:
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CLICK TO CHECK OUT THE REST OF HER AMAZING GALLERY!!!!!