As females, we (I) know that we can be either critical or ecstatic about who we are (usually somewhere in between!). A look back at yourself over the years and your inner critic will appear to help you discover your real ‘me’. Once you do, you can’t help but be ecstatic about it.
It all starts on the day we’re born.
Fast forward to our first fashion show, and we’re the star. Our mom helps dress us and style our hair and gets us to pose.
Then the magic of stardom starts to wane when we hit school age and we try to find a look or how to fit in. We play with clothes and our hair in different ways.
We find great friends who accept us for who we are, but yet, we remain critical and compare ourselves to others…and wonder if will we ever find the right guy?
Then if we’re lucky, a magical moment of love finds a way into our lives, and the childhood dreams of finding a prince charming happens.
We’re so ecstatic we even say, “Hell yeah, let’s bring a couple little girls into our lives!”
Pregnancy is a time to feel free to lose our figure while we secretly hope we’ll gain it back someday. And we play with the hairstyles and glasses…OMG – what the heck?
And then midlife hits and you’re a 40-year-old and your mom throws you a big party. She makes a Pinterest board before they were even the in-thing…
And lo and behold, at 53 you look back at all the pictures of the ‘younger me’ as a critic and an investigator – what style is ‘me’, what haircut fits ‘me’, and who the hell is the real 53-year-old ‘me’ now that I’m an empty nester?
I’m ecstatic now that I took the time to take a critical look at the years leading up to the me of today – minus the 13 years in-between. Um…so yeah, my mom wasn’t here to celebrate with me or to make me a board for my 50th…those are the years her health was failing, and they weren’t so magical. Not to be too critical of that time though, we did have some beautiful moments shared in our young family together despite mom’s dementia.
What do I see in the photos of ‘me’? I smiled more than I thought I did – I was always embarrassed by my crooked teeth. At 40, I joined my kids and got braces.
I think my mom knew that about me, so she purposely found photos of me smiling for the board. Growing up she even told me I looked like a famous person to cheer me when I was sad about my looks.
As I look at the pictures, I seem to prefer shorter hairstyles, and if it is long, I pull it away from my face, as my mom did for me while growing up. What do I see about my clothing choices over the years? I’m mostly a high collar, eclectic kind of gal.
Oh, my…I am my best critic and now I know for sure that’s a perfect word for me – Eclectic! I can’t wait to explore that more as I revive my wardrobe. I do think it is time to have a real Pinterest board instead of the one my mom made. I made one a long time ago called If only…then I’d wear it…just because it is…I just renamed the board to “Over 50 eclectic wardrobe…it fits ME and my revival goals“. And now the critic in me feels compelled to summon myself to review the contents – it was pretty mythical. That’s a rabbit hole to go down for another day…
Post Inspiration thank you to Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday #SoCS – ic or ical and #AugustBreak2018 – Younger Me and Word of the Day – Summon
PS – Have you taken a critical look at yourself in photos? Did you find anything interesting about yourself that surprised you? Are you an eclectic person too? What are your tips on how to find clothes for your eclectic style?
What wonderful pics! I think you’re right–you are your best critic and your best style-maker. Don’t know what my style is, really, probably fairly classic. Luckily, working from home I don’t have anyone to impress, but me! So, some days it’s pajamas all day!
Thank you, Rebecca, I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I’m in the same work from home clothing boat. I notice how comfy my style is when I do have to head out to meetings or presentations. The moment I get back home, I change back to the norm! 🙂
I love the old photos, collages and eclectic. Beautiful family and beautiful you all the way through.
Aw, thank you, JoAnna, I appreciate your words of encouragement!
What a great memory board! I don’t think I have a “style” because I don’t follow fashion that much. I wear what feels comfortable. Wonderful post!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Janet! I prefer comfortable, too! 🙂
I love your post! The truth is that I’m *horrible* about looking at myself in photos. I see the faults and flaws, little things that other people say they never notice, but they’re glaringly apparent to me. I’ve done so much work on myself and am really in a much better place than I used to be…but this tic with pictures still sticks with me. Maybe in another decade I’ll finally get over myself! 😆
Thank you, Laura – I appreciate hearing your perspective. I often think the same about photos of myself and wonder if the only ones I had growing up cost a lot to develop or they were school photos, how could we NOT think they are horrible photos! I dreaded every year opening up the school photos to see what it looked like. Nowadays kids are handed a selfie machine as soon as they can figure out what it is and how it works. They learn quickly which angles they look best in. I got over my tic when I took a photo a day during my going gray process. Notice there isn’t a video yet…! 2 years later – maybe in 8 I’ll be ready for it?!! LOL!
Loved you post and your trip through memory lane. We as women I think rely on what others think of us instead of realizing what neat people we really are. Think of all the other wonderful women we have had an influence on, family and friends alike. Or the influence they have had us, good or bad. It makes us who we are and we are pretty special.
Thank you, Anita, I appreciate hearing your thoughts on how we as women process what we think of ourselves and others. We are pretty special and that is where our thoughts should start and end! Thanks for stopping by to read my post!
Some great advice in here, and lovely photos shared, too!
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Thank you!!! :-)!