Love Yourself Boosts

Hey everyone!

This week I have asked two of my lovely roommates Nicole and Carly and the cute, spunky girl across the hall, Kayla, to contribute to this week’s post. I have asked them what “learning to love yourself” means to them, and what they do when they need a “Love Yourself Boost”!

(Disclaimer: I tried my best to paraphrase them, but I hardly do them justice! These girls are amazing and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to know and hang out with them!)

Nicole: The biggest part about self-image is not comparing yourself to others because there is always going to be “someone better”. We need to learn to love ourselves how we are, remember that we are who we are for a reason, and we are meant to be who we are.

“Love Yourself Boost”: Nicole usually goes to her number one supporter: her mom! Another thing she likes to do is count her blessings and to see that things are good the way they are.

Carly: In a world that’s so consumed with self-image it’s really hard to love yourself. Most of the time models are unrealistic, and they use Photoshop and other technology to digitally enhance beauty. I always remember that Heavenly Father created us in his image, and being the divine king that he is, our bodies are perfect the way they are.

“Love Yourself Boost”: Carly likes to pamper herself by doing her hair, or having a chick flick night with her mom because it makes her remember that she is important and she is beautiful the way she is.

Side note from Hardy: See! Even though we’re in college we still need our mamas because the people that raise us are able to see the best qualities we have even when we can’t see them for ourselves. Shout out to Mama Hardy, LOVIES!

Kayla: It is easier to be happy when you love yourself, and then it’s easier to serve others because you fully understand your own self worth. Learning to love yourself will help you serve others with more love.

“Love Yourself Boost”: Back home, Kayla always went to the beach when she was upset because looking across the water was like looking across infinity, and it helped her remember to look towards the future instead of staying in the past (Hakuna Matata anyone?). Another thing that helps her is music because it helps her learn about herself and music has been a part of her life for such a long time. She loves to play music to help boost her mood and I quote: “NO ONE CAN BE SAD WHEN YOU PLAY A UKELELE!”

I hope these girls have given you some ideas about your own thoughts and feelings about learning to love yourself! I would love to have some comments about what you think and some of the things you do when you need a “Love Yourself Boost”, so feel free to share!

XOXO Hardy

Learning to Love Yourself

Hello Everyone!

As a freshman at Brigham Young University, the first few weeks of this semester have been filled with excitement, confusion, and a small bit of anxiety of how I will fit in to this new place.  On a campus like this, filled with intelligent and talented people, it is sometimes difficult to remember my own unique talents and gifts that my Heavenly Father has blessed with me with.

Fortunately, the speakers during New Student Orientation often reminded us that while we might be tempted to compare ourselves with others, we must not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of believing that we are “not talented or intelligent enough.”

While the every day battle against self-doubt may lead some of us to be frustrated with ourselves, or even foster animosity towards our flaws, it has become all the more important to appreciate who we are as individuals.

With this in mind, I have chosen to dedicate my blog to… {DRUMROLL PLEASE}

Learning to Love Yourself

Honestly, this topic is one that I hold very close to my heart. Learning to love one’s self is one of the most difficult things we can do here on earth because we often focus on personal flaws instead of positive, and more important, qualities we have.

What are some things that make it difficult to love one’s self? I can think of a few including poor body image, a low self-esteem, misconceptions of individuality, and even assumptions about what the world “wants us to be”.

Now, here is a better question: what are some things that help us grow to love and appreciate ourselves as individuals? I believe that if any of us could fully understand {even for a moment!} our divine nature, our roles as children of Heavenly Father, and the love that He has for us, perhaps we would not have the trial of self-doubt.

However, it is inevitable that some time or other everyone will face this trial. So it makes sense that as individuals we can help others and ourselves in the fight to love the people we are.

There are many things that I hope to accomplish with this blog. I hope to help others grow to a strong sense of self worth and I hope to grow in this way myself. I hope that those who are impacted through this blog will feel inspired to take a stand in the name of love and self worth.

I hope you enjoy this journey with me!

XOXO Hardy

Waste Land

Hello everyone!

This week I had the opportunity to watch Waste Land, a documentary about a project by the famous artist Vik Muniz. Muniz is an artist from Brazil that currently lives in New York City. For one of his many projects, Muniz returned to Brazil to use the “recyclable material pickers” of Jardim Gramacho (the largest garbage dump in the world) as his subjects.

Essentially Muniz takes photographs of these people that scavenge through the garbage dump for recyclable material and recreates the pictures using garbage from the dump itself.

http://www.wastelandmovie.com/gallery.html

However this documentary, and Muniz’s purpose, is much deeper than a man who uses garbage to create art.

Muniz’s project changed the lives of the “pickers” of the Association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho. These beautiful people, whose reality is picking through the garbage day by day in order to make money from selling recyclable materials, change through this experience. I believe that Muniz and his crew were able to show these workers their true self worth. Though they only seem like humble garbage pickers at first, these people are truly special in the way they live their lives, care for their families, and do their best to make a living in the world. They are able to see how important they truly are as they become more involved in the art and share their stories.

http://www.wastelandmovie.com/gallery.html

What this documentary has shown me is how powerful the impact of art can be on individuals and how important it is to invite others to share their life stories while showing them that they really do matter.

Watching Waste Land brought this scripture into my mind: “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” (D&C 18:10) I was reminded very strongly that every individual has a divine nature and purpose and we are all of unimaginable importance to our Heavenly Father.

I think we should all promise to do more to not only remember our own self worth, but the self worth of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Vik Muniz is a wonderful example of this. I admire the way he used his success with the project to help the Association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho by donating all of the money earned from selling the portraits at auction. Not only did he change their lives through art, Muniz helped build new homes, a learning center, a library, and many other things for the workers.

I know that I may not have as big of an impact as Vik Muniz, but I hope that I will be able to follow his example of service and learning to love the people around me.

Hardy

Waste Land is available on Netflix, and you may view the trailer at this website: http://www.wastelandmovie.com