Vulnerability; Peeking behind our own Iron Curtains

Vulnerability is quite possibly the scariest word in the english language because it is a word soaked in emotion. The word itself means different things to different people and yet at its core, it evokes the same feeling of unease for everyone. To some, vulnerability means letting your best friend see you cry for the first time and wondering how they'll react to it. To others, vulnerability means letting your boyfriend touch your most insecure parts of your body, and wondering if he'll judge what he feels. To me, vulnerability means being able to stare at myself in the mirror and not hide behind clothes or good angles, wondering what the world thinks about what I carry around.

Whatever shape vulnerability takes on, it's extremely scary and is often hard to confront. Social media has played a huge role in hiding vulnerability because even though we expose ourselves online, we pretty much only show our own highlight reels. We show our best angles, our best memories, and our best versions of ourselves, leaving our actual identities to hide behind perfect filters. Although it's human nature to compare ourselves to others, social media has only escalated this further. I was raised on the belief that "the grass is always greener on someone else's lawn", and yet I forgot this lesson along the way because social media was painting me a different picture.

I am a huge believer in no longer only showing the best parts of myself online.In order to be comfortable posting a vulnerable pic on instagram, I had to take a vulnerable pic of myself in my mirror. I had to actually stop, look at my own body, and cherish it in order to show the whole thing off... not just the parts I felt were worthy of exposing. I'm not saying to go and show off your couchy to the whole world in order to feel happy about yourself, I'm just saying that those parts of our bodies aren't the only ones that we are afraid to expose.

I have seen this huge push in posting ACTUAL pictures of ourselves online, and not just the ones that make us look skinny or perfectly happy. I have started seeing more and more accounts out there dedicated to showing a true human body and human experiences instead of ones that pretend body fat and bad days don't exist. We need more of this bravery in the world. I hate that "bravery" is what we categorize showing our actual selves off as, and yet that's really what it is. Maybe one day we'll get to a point where loving your body and posting self love is the only norm. Until then, it's up to you and me and the people in your life to start embracing their own vulnerabilities and cherishing them. Change happens one person and one instagram account at a time.