I Refuse To See My Bunions As Ugly For Any Longer
Hold up. 
🖐🏾 Can we talk about bunions? Bunions are the little bony balls that stick out on the sides of some peoples feet.
👣 Sometimes it's genetic, sometimes it happens later in life to dancers or people who wear high heels. 
👠
They are often painful, and sometimes they need to be surgically reduced. They're essentially bones that grow abnormally and happen to change the structure of my feet.
🤷🏻♀️ When I started becoming present on social media, (and inevitably people started noticing my feet either on runways or in YouTube videos, or photos etc), people started commenting negatively about them. I started feeling insecure.
💔 Some commenters would tell me but my feet were disgusting, that I should stop posting photos of my shoes. Others would tell me that I look like Sasquatch, or a deformity.
☹️These comments hit hard, because of how insecure I already was of my physical appearance, body and acne. 
😔
I have a vivid memory, of Christmas circa 8 years ago, when I deliberately (and poorly) photoshopped the sides of my feet off, in attempts to erase my bunions.
🎄
For a while I hid my feet, and even stopped taking the ballet classes I loved so much, to remove myself from any situation that would worsen, or expose my body's natural anatomy.
👯
Fast forward to now. I've done a lot of personal searching, growing, and self-realization in the past few years, and I now realize that just like my acne, or the certain curves and angles of my body, my bunions are a part of me.
💕
They are not a deformity, but a story.
📖 When I look down at my feet during a walk barefoot in the grass, or when dancing with friends, I am reminded of this beautiful, functioning body that I have the pleasure to live in. 
🙌🏽 I am reminded of the countless miles my feet have taken me, and even the legacy of my own family.
🌳 My great-grandmother, who I never had the chance to meet, had bunions so bad that she had to cut holes in the sides of every single pair of shoes she owned, and they would stick out like awkward mirrors on the sides of a car. 
🚘
As painful as that sounds, it makes me smile – and I am proud to be her great-granddaughter, with the same genetic predisposition to bunions that she gave me.
❤️ It's a very odd, but unique gift, from a wonderful relative who loves me dearly, even if she was one that I never got to meet. My bunions are not a burden. They are not a deformity, something disgusting, or something that makes me "less than". 
🦋
I refuse to let them limit me, and instead, I've come to realize that my bunions are beautiful. Never be ashamed of who you are, or what you have.
🙌🏽We all search for ways to be special and unique, yet unknowingly, many of us try to erase the things that make us so. Be proud of your flaws, because they are what make you truly one of a kind, beautiful and irreplaceable. Our bodies are amazing- acne, bumps, bunions and all. 🦋
Follow @SincerelyCass11
🖐🏾 Can we talk about bunions? Bunions are the little bony balls that stick out on the sides of some peoples feet.
👣 Sometimes it's genetic, sometimes it happens later in life to dancers or people who wear high heels. 👠 They are often painful, and sometimes they need to be surgically reduced. They're essentially bones that grow abnormally and happen to change the structure of my feet.
🤷🏻♀️ When I started becoming present on social media, (and inevitably people started noticing my feet either on runways or in YouTube videos, or photos etc), people started commenting negatively about them. I started feeling insecure.💔 Some commenters would tell me but my feet were disgusting, that I should stop posting photos of my shoes. Others would tell me that I look like Sasquatch, or a deformity. ☹️These comments hit hard, because of how insecure I already was of my physical appearance, body and acne. 😔 I have a vivid memory, of Christmas circa 8 years ago, when I deliberately (and poorly) photoshopped the sides of my feet off, in attempts to erase my bunions.
🎄For a while I hid my feet, and even stopped taking the ballet classes I loved so much, to remove myself from any situation that would worsen, or expose my body's natural anatomy.
👯Fast forward to now. I've done a lot of personal searching, growing, and self-realization in the past few years, and I now realize that just like my acne, or the certain curves and angles of my body, my bunions are a part of me.
💕 They are not a deformity, but a story.
📖 When I look down at my feet during a walk barefoot in the grass, or when dancing with friends, I am reminded of this beautiful, functioning body that I have the pleasure to live in. 🙌🏽 I am reminded of the countless miles my feet have taken me, and even the legacy of my own family. 🌳 My great-grandmother, who I never had the chance to meet, had bunions so bad that she had to cut holes in the sides of every single pair of shoes she owned, and they would stick out like awkward mirrors on the sides of a car. 🚘 As painful as that sounds, it makes me smile – and I am proud to be her great-granddaughter, with the same genetic predisposition to bunions that she gave me.
❤️ It's a very odd, but unique gift, from a wonderful relative who loves me dearly, even if she was one that I never got to meet. My bunions are not a burden. They are not a deformity, something disgusting, or something that makes me "less than". 🦋 I refuse to let them limit me, and instead, I've come to realize that my bunions are beautiful. Never be ashamed of who you are, or what you have.
🙌🏽We all search for ways to be special and unique, yet unknowingly, many of us try to erase the things that make us so. Be proud of your flaws, because they are what make you truly one of a kind, beautiful and irreplaceable. Our bodies are amazing- acne, bumps, bunions and all. 🦋Follow @SincerelyCass11
Comments
Post a Comment