Hey guys – it’s GS here.  I know it’s been a while but I promise I have a good excuse.  Perhaps it was because I felt like I couldn’t write – that the things I was going through just couldn’t be put to ink because it made it feel TOO REAL.  But here I am, on my 25th birthday, feeling like I finally am ready to reflect.

4 weeks ago I had to undergo abdominal surgery.  Without going into too much details, the surgery was very necessary, very sudden, and very scary.  I had to stop my life – defer grad school, defer wedding planning, and just STOP.  And for someone like me, who is always go go go, this was tough.  Not only was I going through a major health crisis, my body had been experiencing unexpected and unwanted changes.  I had gained significant weight, felt lousy all the time, had no interest in food – I just felt like I wasn’t myself.  The surgery would not only leave me with a big scar from my breastbone to my belly button, but came with a 6 week recovery period.  And all of this was happening four months before my wedding!  Oy.

Why am I writing this?  Because we all spend SO much time (myself included) being vain about our bodies.  We look at the outside as the ideal – being thin and fit.  But going through this experience has given me a new and much more valuable outlook.  I don’t just appreciate my looks – I have a newfound appreciation for what’s on the inside (literally!).  I APPRECIATE WHAT MY BODY CAN DO. I appreciate that my surgery took half the time as expected because I was so fit.  I appreciate that a week after surgery I was able to walk on the treadmill (an old lady walk mind you, but a walk all the same!).  I appreciate that two days ago I started to run again.  I appreciate that my body has healed itself so rapidly and I even appreciate that new scar – a scar that I will ROCK for the rest of my life as a badge of honor – as a sign that I am a warrior and can conquer anything.

So what do I wish to impart to you?  Tomorrow morning when you look in the mirror, do me a favor.  Instead of nitpicking every little perceived flaw, take a good hard look.  Appreciate yourself.  Be grateful for the amazing things your body can do.  Because without, you’re nothing.