In Chapter 5 of “The Geode Theory,” Teri writes, “That maybe our perception is what is distorted, rather than our actual bodies. When you change your situation, you can change your view and suddenly everything looks brighter.” This couldn’t be more true in this case. Teri furthers this sentiment by challenging you to a “CHIP, CHIP, CHIP” exercise which made this whole social experiment come full circle and allowed me to finally put down what I’ve been trying to say—just a hell of a lot more theoretical and poignant than I would have been able to do on my own. 

The “CHIP, CHIP, CHIP” stated: “When you look at a photo of yourself, where does your focus go? What are the thoughts and feelings surrounding the image? ... What are some possible reasons why you focus on certain parts of your face or body whenever you look at an image or in the mirror?”

Talk about a wake-up call. 

This woman, who knew nothing of our social experiment, already had the answers as to why I viewed myself the I did.

To break it down, if you read the previous blog post and saw the photos, you would see an image I marked up personally, plastic surgery style, where I pointed out my so-called flaws. Participants, without seeing the mark-up, submitted small statements as to  the first things they saw or noticed in the photo—none of which I pointed out, and all of which were positive and up-lifting.

But when I used Teri’s method from her “CHIP, CHIP, CHIP” exercise, I went from seeing a woman, flawed and disfigured because of a specific situation and conversation I had partaken in nearly 10 years ago, to the f-ing, badass, courageous, and powerful woman I am. In the photo, I saw my uneven hips—which I should add, aren’t uneven at all in the photos—simply because of one day and one conversation I had.  

On the day of my final wedding dress fitting, the seamstress, without skipping a beat, informed me I must have scoliosis because my hips were uneven and scoffed about how it was going to take her longer to fix my ball gown in a fashion that would make this flaw not so obvious.

Instead of asking her who the hell she was to make such a comment, I’ve held on to that negative scenario for so long, that it literally dictated the way I view myself daily. Whether I’m in a dress, jeans or workout leggings, I would stare in the mirror and ask myself do I look uneven in this?  

But thanks to Teri Hofford, Tara and the many participants in our little social experiment, I say to hell with the little seamstress witch and whatever she has to say or think. My hips have given me the ability to walk, run, skip, and do cart-wheels in my 30’s, even though I’m getting too damn old to do so. They allow me to carry my 45 lb, 4 year-old son from the couch to bed when he has fallen asleep beside me. They’ve allowed me to care for my 6’ 2” husband who is recently recovering from neck surgery, and lastly, they have now allowed me to become unapologetically f-ing me! 

So I’ll leave you with this, which Teri Hofford has also endorsed on Instagram #effyourbeautystandards!