January 17 - Hindsight is 20/20 Journaling Challenge

Here's mine: word count 205

 

Here is mine. Word count is 427. Journaling below.



A lesson learned late is still a lesson learned.

The label, “cute,” has been pinned upon me at least a thousand times. Most of the time, people mean it in a positive, slightly pleasant way. I have a lot to be thankful for in that I wasn’t teased or bullied for my looks or body type in school. The label grated on me; I didn’t want to be cute. I envied the more popular girls in school who had labels like “pretty,” or “gorgeous,” or “stunning” or “sexy.” I longed to be any or all of those things. Alas, in the perception of others, I fell into the same category as fuzzy bathroom slippers.

Adulthood has been much of the same. Even though I am beautiful and sexy and amazing to one person, my husband of 23 years, the ghost of cute still haunts me off and on. I remember trying several times for specific looks and still getting the feedback from others of, “You look so cute!”

I shouldn’t care. Intellectually, I’ve known that I shouldn’t care, but I saw other things inside of myself besides this one thing that others kept telling me I was. Knowing is different than feeling, however. Rather than letting the label slide off, I let it stick to me and I let others’ opinions matter more than my own.

In 2019, I had the privilege of attending a five-day human dissection lab where we dismantled three bodies, layer by layer. It was fascinating! In addition, I thoroughly appreciated the way our lab director, Gil Hedley, framed our exploration. Each body was a gift. Each body was “right” and “appropriate” and “perfect” and “beautiful,” no matter the shape, the age, the scars, the marks of living. Each body had lived and laughed and loved and cried and ultimately, died. And each was a perfect example of the human form.

The morning of my second day of dissection, waking up and walking naked to the shower, I caught a fast glance of my reflection in the bathroom mirror and I thought, “I am beautiful.” But it wasn’t just a thought. It was a feeling of self-appreciation, self-acceptance, and love that I don’t ever express to myself. I’m not one to stand in the mirror and affirm myself, ever, and yet this feeling just bubbled up out of nowhere, and I started to cry. Of all the things I learned spending five days with a scalpel,this was probably my biggest lesson.

Hindsight is 20/20. I am beautiful, and I’ve been beautiful all along.

 

Elisa, I love you, my dear <3
here you go... 400 and something words when I put it through the word counter, I added 3 sentences in the end in the actual page as visually it was un-balanced, but doesn;t alter the meaning of the journaling ...the transcript is in the gallery in my page description as not sure you ll be able to read from the LO- Awesome subject , thanks for hosting my lovely!!!!!!

 

Interesting challenge!

 

Word count 207

As a young couple, we were cash poor but rich in love and energy. We brought our first newborn home to a studio apartment stuffed to the brim with all the things that come with a baby! While I worked part time and Chip working 2 jobs, we made every dollar stretch. Sometimes it was frustrating when we found ourselves wishing for more room in our finances, but we looked for ways to make due. We clipped coupons, bought 50 packages of newborn diapers on clearance for $1.00 a pack, carpooled, I worked temporary jobs: election worker one day a year, babysitting, office management, bulk mail for advertising campaigns. During those early years of our family, I regretted not having more cash to have the freedom to do "fun" things. After 27 years and realizing that hindsight is 20/20, I long for the days when the kids were my constant companions and we felt indulgent when the cookie shop at the mall was selling their treats at clearance. Sometimes when we think we are lacking something, we find we are at our most resourceful. Experiencing both thick and thin, I remind myself to be grateful for every season and make the best of each moment.

 

Here is mine. Word Count 230 / Hindsight is 20/20 is in the last sentence.

 

word count 323

 

Word Count: 227 words

 

(word count: 258)

 

This was a good challenge. I have been thinking about this story for a while. This was the perfect opportunity to scrap it.

 

MOC-2020-17-HindsightIs2020WEB by tlcd1961 posted Jan 26, 2020 at 5:48 PM

(226 words)

It is hard for me to think of something that I would want to advise my younger self. I have such a wonderful life. I love my family and I would not change them for anything. I would be afraid that any change might lead to my present being changed.
I guess the one thing that has caused me much regret is my weight. I would love to go back and tell myself to be careful and not let that weight creep back on! After I had my first child, I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy size. Now I had a baby, a full-time job, and a husband that worked nights. At first, I tried to leave my baby at my mother’s house and go work out. I realized that I was almost never spending any time with my child and just could not handle it. I quit going to the gym. I wish I had found some other way to keep fit. Now I am overweight and in pretty much constant pain. I can’t see the forest for the trees. I feel that there is no hope for me to change my situation. I am hoping to change that this year, but it sure would be nice if I could go back and tell myself to not let this go! Hindsight is indeed 20/20!

 

Journaling has 546 words (and is in full in credits in the gallery if needed)... I highlighted the words in pink.

 

226 words, Hindsight is 20/20 is in the text.

 

311 Words