“For the last few years I have been on a journey to truly love myself for who I am…I have worked it down to a mantra of ‘I am enough.'”
How inspirational is that? I’m actually sitting here tearing up reading these words Maddy shared with me. I can’t help but think about how simple those three words are — ‘I am enough’ — and yet rarely do most of us feel this way.
Maddy and I spent a lot of time talking about societal expectations and self-love during our Los Angeles boudoir photography session. We talked about learning how to see ourselves through our own eyes, rather than the fabricated ideals society places on humans--ideals we’ll never be able to achieve anyway (thanks, overenthusiastic photoshoppers!). We talked about the necessary journey we need to take to discover and love ourselves as we are, in order to be truly happy. About how no other person can make us happy--while others can make us happIER, only we can, and are responsible for, making ourselves happy.
From Maddy: “When I was deciding if I wanted to do a boudoir session, I was filled with mixed emotions. It was so hard for me to initially turn off all those programed insecurities that are downloaded into our brains by our culture and society. For the last few years I have been on a journey to truly love myself for who I am, not who I want to be. This is easier said than done, but I have worked it down to a mantra of “I am enough”. I saw my boudoir session as an opportunity to practice what I preach, to embrace and celebrate who I am. To say “I am enough”. It was a moment to step into fear and insecurity and release those feelings into love and acceptance. This session was more than a photo shoot for me; it was stepping outside my boundaries in order to grow. I believe Karen shares many of these same ideals and she was supportive, fun and encouraging during the entire process. It was such a fun shoot full of joy and laughter. I encourage anyone who is wanting to embrace and celebrate their beautiful and unique selves to take the leap.”
I encourage the women I photograph to plan for a few different outfits, whether outfits they bring and/or ones from the Client Wardrobe I offer (such as the white headpiece and lacy sheets). Having several outfits helps create more variety in looks and in the final boudoir photographs.
How is it that a woman as gorgeous as Maddy comes into my studio full of insecurities? What can we do in our every day lives to build ourselves and others up, rather than tear ourselves and each other down? What simple words and actions can you take to affirm yourself and others?
I truly enjoyed speaking about these topics with Maddy. I believe acknowledging our insecurities and their roots is a big step to eliminating them from our mind. And while I think each and every one of us should work on bettering ourselves (there’s always room to grow, right?), we are enough. I am enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.
