Too many times I have looked at myself in the mirror and regretted what I ate for lunch that day. Too many times I have began a new diet or “gave up carbs” to lose weight. Too many times I have  wished I looked the way that society has conditioned me to feel is right.

Amy Schumer’s newest movie ‘I Feel Pretty’ is one of the most relatable movies I have ever seen. If you’ve ever experienced a hard time accepting your body, then you have to watch this movie. I walked out of that film with more self-confidence and self-love than ever!

Amy portrayed the main character, Renee, who is a woman that is honest and relatable in a multitude of ways. In the beginning of the movie Renee has low-self esteem, lacks self-confidence and does not fall into the ‘body ideal’ of being thin and petite.

Renee attends a Soul Cycle class where she falls off her bike, hits her head, and wakes up feeling like she is the most beautiful woman in the world. She looks into the mirror with a new found confidence and exudes self love!

I cried during a comedy movie, but that is how magically relatable Schumer made her main character Renee to be. I connected to her emotions, thoughts and desire to love herself without society’s opinions getting in the way.

Social comparison happens a lot with our own body.

This movie was a reminder that people, especially women, are too hard on themselves. We put too much pressure on ourselves to look “flawless” and “skinny” when in reality we have to accept our bodies they way that they were made.

It was mentioned in the movie that as little girls we run around in bathing suits with our bellies out, we don’t wear makeup, and our hair can look crazy but we don’t care at all. But one day everything changes when one comment from someone else about our appearance makes us look at our body in a negative and self-destructive way. I used to work as a student therapist for the track and field team during my undergrad. Through this I experienced extreme body dysmorphia and had a hard time accepting my body because I constantly compared it to the girls who train and are in great shape. I had to force myself into remembering that these girls had a different lifestyle than I did, and that everyone is built differently.

The underlying movie message is “you become what you believe.”

It shouldn’t take a hard fall off a bike at Soul Cycle for us to realize that we should love ourselves. Amy’s character gains all of the confidence in herself, and that is what people end up falling for. She gets her dream job, people love chatting with her, and she even wins the heart of the (super adorable) male-love interest!

Acceptance of my physical appearance is something I’ve been working on. I’ve also been working on my confidence and ability to just let my body happen. I try too often to cut-back and diet, when in reality I’m not even a big person to begin with. Society has brainwashed me to become something that I’m not and I’m tired of it. So who else wants to hop on the self-love train?

Social comparison is killer.

You should just love yourself and love your body.

Nourish your body, nourish your soul.

Dating can be a challenge, but one day you will find someone who is going to love you for you

You don’t have to make yourself something you’re not just to please someone else.

Learn to love yourself.

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I highly recommend this movie. Once I walked out of that movie theatre I felt more confident and decided that I was going to be less hard on myself & more obsessed with myself! Those two things will help you live your life to the fullest everyday!

If you’ve seen it, comment below and let me know your key take-aways!

-Liv