A Love Letter to My Cellulite

I have to admit, I’ve never been a big fan of Kim Kardashian West. Something about her over-exposed life and her decision to cover every inch of flaws with heavy makeup, plastic surgery, and photo-editing just didn’t feel genuine to me. It didn’t feel honest. But when unedited photos of Kardashian wearing a bikini on vacation in Mexico hit the internet, I felt for her. Kardashian like most grown-ass women (including myself), has cellulite. And yet the world thought it was okay to shame her for it.

https://twitter.com/KKW_Updates/status/856536741754417153

Everyone felt the need to offer their unwanted and unwarranted opinions on Kardashian’s body. It started with just Twitter trolls and haters on Instagram and next thing you know, Piers Morgan had something to say about it. “Flaws should not be celebrated. My thoughts are, she’s just launched her new emoji of her backside next to an ashtray – which she’s called it ‘ass tray’ – so I think her posterior is fair game,” he said during a discussion on Good Morning Britain.

As someone who has had a hard time coming to terms with the cellulite that has in recent years developed on my thighs, this really hit home to me. It’s no wonder Kardashian or anyone else for that matter, would want to edit their little flaws away. Unfortunately, we still live in a society that harshly criticizes women’s bodies and holds them to impossible standards. The same impossibly ridiculous standards I sometimes hold myself to.

But because I promised myself that I was going to be kinder to my body this year by feeding it healthy foods, working it out, and also being careful the way I choose to think or talk about it, I decided to write my cellulite a love letter. Here goes:

My dear cellulite (a.k.a amor de mis amores),

I’ve been cruel to you. I have treated you like the worst feature on my body and I’m really sorry for that. I’m sorry for being ashamed of you and trying to hide you whenever I’m publicly wearing shorts or a mini skirt. I’m sorry for greeting you every morning with frowns and tough grabs instead of with smiles and gentle touches.

You may not be smooth, but you are real and you are part of me. That alone is reason for me to love and embrace you. I’m not saying I’m going to stop eating healthy, working out, or massaging my thighs with coffee grounds. I’m just saying that I’m going to be kinder to you throughout the process.

The journey to self-love and body acceptance is definitely not an easy one. It takes times, hard lessons, and patience. But I’m willing to keep at it because at the end of the day, my self-worth is not based on how I look, whether or not I have cellulite, or what others may think of me. I promise you moving forward, I will try my best to use kind words to describe you and even flood you with kind and positive affirmations while I gently massage you with nourishing body oils and fancy lotions. I will make an effort to smile at you whenever I look at you in the mirror and now with the warmer weather coming – you better bet I’ll be showing you off for the world to admire.

Amor de mis amores, I have to warn you that this isn’t going to be easy for me. There will be days (especially nights) when I might not be at my best. But regardless, I want you to know that we are in this together. And as long as you are part of me, I will stand with you.”

If you’ve been struggling with loving your body or loving a certain part of your body, try writing it a love letter. You’d be surprised how much healing you can get out of such a simple exercise. Seriously, I almost wish I’d done this sooner.