At age 62, a Corydon woman is on a positive path to find love, beauty and acceptance of herself. In her own words, she looks back on her experiences growing up in the United States in late 1970s. She has two wonderful young grandchildren, Luka & Sienna who continue to inspire her every day. Though she’s overcome years of societal expectations regarding body image, she’s finally embracing her identity as she walks through life’s struggles.
The subject of this story has spent her entire life, and especially her career, navigating the pressures put on her body. As a highly visible and politicized icon, she had to contend with women’s criticism on her own looks and those of other women. She first started dieting at the age of ten. This was an all-too-familiar response to the forces of trying to conform to Western ideals of beauty. At only 15, she had an unexpected and extreme growth spurt—she grew nine inches in nine months. This unexpected twist turned everything around, leaving her feeling clunky and uncomfortable.
With hard work and perseverance, she has overcome many hurdles in her life from battling a divorce to raising her two children. An added complication for her — her children are visiting their dad in Europe this summer. This provides her a unique opportunity for introspection and self-rediscovery. She has a full time writing job that keeps her busy to the point where that takes up most if not all of her time. Even so, she is careful to make time for herself to savor.
A couple weeks ago, she went on a three-day music beat freakout in the woods led by a pal. This experience proved to be pivotal. Encapsulated by nature and enveloped in music, she experienced peace in the movement back to basics and out of city constraints. The late-night campfire sessions introduced her to stronger connections with herself and others. This breathtaking experience provided a key return to what had long been lacking from her life. It was through these experiences that she learned, albeit slowly, the value of self acceptance.
She said this trip really knocked her off her normal pattern. Typically, she wrote in the late night hours with her kids asleep. Rather than considering only the roles she should play and the work she had to do, she questioned the status quo and afforded herself the space to live wildly. The forest’s enchantment folded around her like a security blanket. In between her songs, she would talk about the journey of her life and how to lift the societal expectations that caused her to body shame herself.
She accepts her expanded outlook as a welcome change. What she once considered an unattractive body type in her teenage years has now become a source of power and pride. As a mother—and more recently a grandmother—her view has completely changed. Underneath it all, she knows that the best relationships with friends, family, and with yourself are what counts.