Barbie Has Never Represented Me

I think at a young age, I always knew I wasn't a part of the "girl" crowd. I hung out with the guys, mostly because I was active, enjoyed sports, and they weren't shallow or drama queens. Yes, I played with Barbies, but I tended to take mine outside, and throw her in a Tonka truck and have her go on some adventure! I also floated her on a shoe box in a creek after a storm, and lost my shoe in the process. Considering I was 8, I should be lucky I lost my shoe and I didn't get washed away!
Lately, they have been talking about the disproportions of the Barbie doll and the unrealistic body image it gives girls as well as boys. (Some boys think all girls should look like Barbie)
As a kid, I never really thought about Barbie as a role model. Maybe since I hung out with the boys, I missed girls talking how they wanted to look like Barbie. Maybe I just thought it wasn't me to begin with.
 Anyway,  I still am angry they haven't made an "off road" Barbie that gets all dirty and has her own quad to ride around. Ladies, you can be whomever you want to be and also by the way, you can be beautiful, no matter what body type you have, or what career you enjoy, or what sports you play.
You CAN be who you want to be, and still be happy. Pleasing others isn't going to get you far in terms of how you feel about yourself. I wear make up when I feel like it, and dress up when I care to, not because it is expected, because I am a woman. Be who you want to be!
Now back to unrealistic things. Ladies, if you think that your life is going to be like a Disney princess movie, then you will lead an unhappy life, unless you favorite is Mulan. Spoiler Alert: In Mulan, she fights for her dad, kicks butt, and gets the handsome guy in the end, all while she is mostly dressed like a guy during the story! The other Disney movies have a prince rescuing the girl and everything is perfect. Sometimes you need to rescue yourself you know! My whole point to this blog is that you need to realize that no one is going to rescue you but you and no one is going to make you beautiful but you. Beauty comes from within, and don't be jaded by the unrealistic so called role models, or airbrushed images. Be comfortable with your own skin. I take pride that I'm not vain and don't stress about flaws on my body. It took years to get to that point, and I sure wish someone was telling me when I was younger to not buy into society's image which is NOT reality. I can't help but laugh and also pity when women get all bent out of shape when they have a wrinkle or a zit. It's part of life, and I'm not one that will spend hundreds if not thousands on beauty products! Why not start a trend and embrace the flaws? Why not make those a fashion statement? Live to your own standards, not what others think. If more young ladies and women would speak up that those images are NOT who we are, then maybe those magazines wouldn't exist. If you look at women from the past, they had curves and were not airbrushed!
So ladies, just don't buy in to the unrealistic things in the world. I think I'll go listen to the Mulan soundtrack, "Be True to Your Heart"!