Caring for yourself is more than skin deep
In my life, I have always been a bit of a girlie girl with an attitude. What I mean by that is that I always liked to look girlie, but I didn’t want to come off as vain or fragile. So I balanced the art of trying to look good without looking like I spent too much time doing it. This has served me well because I enjoy dressing up, and playing a bit of a chameleon with my wardrobe. This is probably one reason I got involved with the performing arts.
So when someone once told me that I don’t take very good care of myself, I didn’t understand what that meant. I dressed nicely as my budget allowed. But secretly, I often hated the way I looked. Money was always a commodity and often times, what appeared to be a nice outfit was barely being held together with needle and thread. You may have not seen it, but I knew it. And what seemed like pretty hair was hair that needed a trim desperately.
The thing is, I was raised in this fashion. I regularly wore shoes where the soles were so worn, that there were literally holes in the bottom. I grew up wearing other people’s hand me downs. I was simpy not used to buying myself things that I needed and had a very strict categorization of what was an absolute “necessity”. I sometimes went for years without spending more than $100 on clothing for the whole year.
That wasn’t the only place I didn’t care for myself. If I was warm, I wouldn’t turn on the air conditioner. If I was thirsty, I would remain that way.
More too it.
Little things like comfy shoes, clothing that fits, getting lining repaired, bringing snacks.