Three years ago, I covered my body in glitter, twirled down Montegut Street, and invited a then stranger @shooglet to document the moment. It was a joyous day filled with laughter and radical self-love –– an amends to a body I had hated for far too long.
It was also a day filled with nervous energy, inner mean girl falsities, and self-consciousness. There was a moment where I just let go, held my head back, and let my inner child freely sway in the sunlight.
This photo is that exact moment I felt truly free in my skin for maybe the first time in my life.
I remember standing in my bathroom while one of my oldest friends and her small son cover me with vaseline and then glitter. We laughed about how we thought this was an example of great parenting, though our own mothers would probably not agree. We were right. My parents loudly disapproved, and it gave us the chance to do the hard work to make our relationship stronger.
Later that night, while attempting to clean up the glitter (that part took weeks), I casually chatted with a new love interest with no way of knowing that the budding relationship would change me to the core –– altering everything about the way I show up for myself in romantic partnerships.
Today, the photo sits on my shelf. I hardly notice it anymore. Which feels laughable considering it was so uncomfortable at the time, I asked Shoog not to tag me. So when it went viral on @bodyposipanda page, no one knew it was me.
This morning it was all I could see when I walked into my office. It was screaming at me to pause, remember where I've come from and where I’m going. Reflect on the inner work I've done that got me to a life solidly rooted in loving myself.
So here I am, unapologetically celebrating all the bits that make up wildly wonderful me. Hit me up and tell me, what parts of you do you want to celebrate today?
♥️ Jaclyn
Jaclyn McCabe
Author