Sometimes when you are just beginning a work of greatness, you need a little inspiration. I always find it helpful to sneak a quick peek at someone else’s work to help get those creative juices flowing—because hey…even Michelangelo needed a little help getting started with the Sistine Chapel.
After digging around the Internet for what feel like ages, I finally found THE ONE. And, ask anyone… finding THE ONE of anything is damn near impossible these days. You would think that there would be more bloggers out there speaking thing mind about beauty and body image. Luckily, I found everything I could have wanted—and more—at Back in Skinny Jeans.
Back in Skinny Jeans was born in November 2005 to Stephanie “Steph” Quilao—the writer. Her blog focuses on weight loss, weight management, beauty, fashion, and pop culture. What stands about this blog is Steph’s ability to take all those topics and wrap them all up “in the spirit of healing, inspiration, and connection.” Since its inception, Steph has used her blog to share what she has learned through what she calls her “messy middle”—the trials and tribulations of going from fat to thin. She isn’t a professional or academic by any means; in fact, she informs her readers of this:
“I’m not a doctor, a life coach, therapist, or anything certified for that matter, so know that everything on this blog unless I interview a trained professional is my opinion based purely on my experience as a “patient” versus a healer. I have many healing qualities because I like to share what I have learned in my own healing journey.”
Instead of spitting out facts and theories, she gets personal with her followers; she establishes a relationship by divulging some of the emotional and traumatic events of her past in “Steph’s Life Story” posts. She has faced down Bulimia, date rape, depression, therapy, “happy pills,” and the list goes on… Suffice to say, Home-girl had some hard times, but look! She made it through in one piece, and so can we. Despite her lack of scholarly credibility, I believe that the experiences are what make her just as qualified to comment and give advice to others—more so than say a squint who studied eating disorders at a university. She explains well with her zoo versus jungle analogy:
“I personally have learned more from others who have been through "the shit" rather than have studied it academically. For example going to the zoo and going to a jungle are two different things. Yes, both have wild animals, but your experience in both are radically different. Being in the jungle will teach you far more about yourself and what you are capable of than being in a controlled environment designed for your safety and entertainment.”
Very wise words. As I was saying, the personal connection made me feeling like I already made a friend and confidant in Steph—a real person with real issues—is what compelled me to read on.
I completely admit to being on guard when looking through her site and posts for the first time, especially after noticing that she had come out with an iPhone application and has a book on the way. I had to make sure that before I crowned her Ms. All-knowing in my book that her site wasn’t another self-help kind of blog. The voice of her writing strangely reminded me of Oprah or Dr. Phil, and I just couldn’t get over the fact she retired her blog in January 2010 to make way for an iPhone app and book deal. On the other hand, it shows just how successful her blog has been, and as I continued to sift through her posts, I found myself relating to her more and opening up to her. After reading four or five posts, I felt that we had such a strong writer-reader bond that I was about to send her an email to ask her to be my BFF 4 LIFE and make it Facebook official. She had so many insightful facts and personal opinions to share with her followers. For example, who else would have been able to share The Leather Jacket Metaphor?
“People love old leather jackets because over time the jacket becomes more interesting and full of character after years of the leather being beaten up, abused, and weathered. The jacket feels more real and soft over time. Who wants a brand new, shiny, stiff, leather jacket? The imperfections is what makes the distressed version more desirable. Same thing with jeans and that favorite t-shirt.”
However, it was after reading Top 5 Ways to get rid of your muffin top without dieting that I realized, Wow! This woman would do just about anything to help people…Packaging tape to Insta-wrap fat, fascinating! That is a reason why she has had so many followers and comments on her blog over the years. She is a genuinely nice person, plain and simple. She writes out of the goodness of her heart with the purpose of helping others no in the fake “I’m Rich and Philanthropic” way; she will go great lengths to give the most supportive advice.
Well…now that the time has come for me to begin constructing my blog, I plan on following in Steph’s footstep. I figure, why fix something that isn’t broken? There is no need to change perfection. I will do all it takes build a bridge between you, the reader, and myself, by sharing personal experiences and hardships—anything necessary. However, what will set Lets BodyTALK apart from Back in Skinny Jeans will be writer’s voice. Even though I consider myself a nice person, I refuse to use some candy-coated overly optimistic tone that will make the blog content sound “holier than thou” or at all preach-y. I still hope readers feel that I long to positively impact their life one way or another, but, more importantly, I want readers to be able to relate to me and what I’m writing even if—especially if—they are not female or do not share the same issues. Alas, I do understand that sometimes it’s just hard to be REAL about such a touchy topic.
Anyways, wish me luck because here goes nothing…
Quote of the day: “In Buddhist philosophy it is said that great spirits are given very hard assignments in order to graduate them to higher levels. You have a choice to grow or contract, and, I chose to expand and advance. What are you going to choose?” –Stephanie Quilao, Back in Skinny Jeans
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