empowerment
verb; empowered, empowering, empowers
1. to equip or supply with an ability; enable.


I'm sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight off to Oakland, California. And then from there, to connect to Chicago, Illinois. Home, for the holidays. Preparing myself for a long wait through security, I came here a whole two hours too early. Thankfully, after being yelled at by a security guard for having my laptop in my carry-on (psh!) I have had the last hour and a half to people watch, to chat with friends and keep myself otherwise entertained.

People watching is one of my favorite activities. It's entertaining to me, the things people do when they feel they are not being watched. They let their guards down. Sing out songs. Pick their noses. The things that everyone does that everyone tries to hide. This got me thinking about the three people I think reside in all of us. There's the (1) person we want people to see, the (2) person we think we want to be and then (3) the person we truly are. There are so many versions of ourselves, I find it difficult to keep it all under control. We are so afraid to show the real us. Just think. There are so many businesses devoted solely to how we carry ourselves. To hide the things we do not want seen. To bring into the limelight our strenghts, hide our weaknesses. Diet pills to make us super model thin, facial creams to smooth out the wrinkles, hair dye to hide the grays, you name it, we've invented it. It's like we want to stop time, freeze ourselves in a perfect moment.

But the truth is: no one is perfect. People have flaws, get wrinkles, incur cellulite and make mistakes. Time does not stop no matter how much money you have or don't have. I chose the word empowerment for this particular blog, because after a long period of contemplation and self-exploration, I myself have felt just so. I am beginning to find my own voice, accept my flaws and embrace the real me - instead of the me I feel I have to be. Sure I'll still use diet foods to help keep a lean figure, but this time around, it isn't because I feel the need to be stick-thin - it's because I want to keep a healthy figure; a strong figure. A body that will still feel good when I'm sixty plus. And sure, I still might use a face cream, but it won't be to prevent wrinkles, it will be to protect my skin. It's all a bit narcissistic, isn't it? We're so afraid to get old. Afraid to become a weaker version of ourselves. But the truth is, age is a gift. Getting old is earned. You get wrinkles because you sat in on countless sunny days on the beach. Your knees start aching because you danced at your favorite night club with your best friends every Friday and Saturday night. These are the things to remember when you're staring in the mirror. Embracing them, instead of trying to hide them. Do yourself a favor and empower yourself instead of trying to belittle yourself.

believe me,
it feels pretty fantastic once you do.
; )

and as always, love, t.