Hello! My names Ish and I am the founder of the @loveish_x page on Instagram. My inspiration for starting it was to promote self-love, mental health and issues within desi culture.
Probably like many others, at just 20 years old I’ve already debated and researched a number of cosmetic procedures. There are moments when I look in the mirror and analyse every single part of my face and body and sometimes I don’t always like what I see.
I look at old photos of me when I was a little girl, embracing every roll on my stomach or spot on my face and I’m proud of her. Don’t you think it’s crazy how we can go from loving all that we are to then obsessing over every little imperfection of ourselves. It really shows how much society has an impact on the perception you have of yourself.
I’m 20 years old and if I feel like this, then how do all the other younger girls/guys feel?
We’re referred to as the ‘Snowflake Generation’ but when we live in a society where you are constantly judged for the way you look, the idea of self love becomes a little more challenging.
This has only been enhanced by Social media. Learning to accept our differences is difficult when you don’t see people like you represented much in the media, online, in commercials or in movies. It’s hard to make yourself vulnerable but each time I do it, I do it for the boys and girls that have lost themselves in a society that teaches them to be something that they’re not.
I aspire not to be like celebrities or influencers but to be the little girl that I once was. The little girl who embraced every part of her without a care in the world.
It’s okay to be expressive, it’s okay to not be perfect, it’s okay to be exactly who you are.
Smash the stereotypes, inspire and show the world your fire because I know there’s more to you than your beauty. Here is a piece I wrote titled "The Diversity of Beauty."
The Diversity of Beauty
With acne, you’re in this battle of loving and hating your skin because one minute it’ll be clear and the next you’ll have a crazy break out and you don’t know why. I would get days when I loved everything about my skin but days when I was so disgusted by it.
Eventually I learnt that the condition of my skin doesn’t make me any less beautiful. We think that because growing up in the era of social media, you’re surrounded by flawless and edited images of girls/guys and your mind becomes conditioned to thinking that’s normal. What helped me was following accounts that normalised acne and showed real content.
I’ve had acne for 3 years and it’s been a journey. There were days when I would pretend I was sick so I didn’t have to go to school because I was so ashamed with the condition of my face. It was a constant battle in my mind and most of the time I held my emotions inside. I would dread going to any events with my family because I would be bombarded with people pointing out how my skins gotten worse or I would have to listen to the same advice that was clearly not working for me.
It’s very common for people within the South Asian culture to pick out your insecurities and I know that most the time they are trying to do it out of love but it never benefited me and I would have to physically stop myself from crying. Instead of talking about my achievements I felt like everything fell onto my looks and as a result I started obsessing more with what’s on the outside.
I want you to love yourself for all that you are and to remember that the most beautiful part about you is the light that shines within because even with a face full of acne I still have people that love me for who I am.
Acne doesn’t make you any less of a person, it makes you more interesting! @shanidhanda put it in the most beautiful way for me when she said
“When you’re different it’s easier to make a difference.”
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