It’s always interesting to see what happens when your friends introduce you to their friends; the connections that are or aren’t made, the new energies that interact and either blossom or fade. Sometimes you end up getting introduced to someone like this and everything is just so damn easy. That’s when I think you know you’ll stay in contact with them. This woman is one of those easy people.
Meet Anna, a dreamboat of a wanderer who has travelled the globe, and relishes in the thought of doing and being anything regardless of labels and the pressure associated with them. Anna is one of those people who is so generally interested in getting to know you and your story that after being in a car with her for 15 minutes, you kind of just forget you are talking to a relative stranger. I guess maybe I am a tad biased as the first time meeting her I got to spend an entire week with just her and one other person in a van, but I have a feeling that her inquisitive nature is inherent and would be apparent in basically any social situation. I have known her for less than a month, but I’ve got a feeling that her genuine passion for investigation will make for a very fruitful journalism career.
She has been brave enough to share with me some of her thoughts regarding body image, her relationship with her body, and the inherent link I believe women have when in and around nature. She prefers to remain anonymous, so no links to her website or social media have been included.
1. What do you think is the answer to all girls being able to accept their bodies for what they are (an ever changing organism capable of anything) at a young age?
I think that education is a big part of it, both in schools and at home. Girls - and I actually think the same goes for boys - should, aside from being educated on how their bodies function biologically, also receive comprehensive sexual education. In school sex is usually treated as something that can give you diseases or get you pregnant, but it should also explain its pleasures for both male and female. It should be treated as just another way of understanding and celebrating the magic of your own body. Other than that I think that nowadays many kids spend a lot of time on social media where they get bombarded with images of perfect-looking bodies. That can have a negative effect but it also gives a voice to ordinary people, with bodies of all shapes and sizes. I would like to see more of these ‘real’ social influencers. I think that would impact how kids perceive and accept their own bodies.
2. Do you like your body? Would you say your relationship with your body is considered “healthy”?
Yes I have a healthy relationship with my body. Some days I love and appreciate it, other days I don’t and that usually has to do with how I have been treating my body (unhealthy eating, no exercise, just sitting behind my desk) or if I am on my period.
3. What has brought you to the conclusion that you like/dislike your body?
My relationship with my body is not static like that. What brings me to conclude wether I like my body or not has to do with a lot of factors but mainly with how I take care of my body and mind. I always appreciate my body for the places it has taken me. When I come back from a yoga class and when I go through a period of healthy eating I love how good my body feels and that makes me like the way my body looks too. I have given up on wanting to look perfect a long time ago and have accepted I will always have some belly fat and a big bum, but that only annoys me if I know I have been mistreating my body by eating unhealthily or drinking a lot for a long period of time (which is generally when I also gain unnecessary weight). A lot changed for me when I traveled and lived out of my stationwagon for three months and only had the rear mirror to inspect how I looked. I stopped caring and started ‘being’ (sounds lame, I know).
4. What do you do to make yourself feel good?
I go for a long walk along the beach, or in a park if I am not living close to the ocean, I go to a yoga class or meet up and have wines and cheese with friends.
5. Do you like to define yourself by anything in particular? Like being a good dancer, artist, writer etc.
I am not a big fan of labels of any type because people are more than what they do for work or what they believe. If I had to choose I would say I am a good journalist/writer. I find it hard to say I am ‘good’ at something, because it implies the end of a learning curve. I feel like with everything I enjoy doing - like writing, yoga or surfing - I am in a never ending process of growing and improving instead.
6. What’s the “big thing” you want the world to know about you, if anything?
Everyone lives in their own world, so I won’t waste energy on how others think about me.
7. What would you deem to be your biggest challenge in life so far?
Trying to figure out how to make money while enjoying as many seconds of your life as possible whilst also somehow leaving the world a better place while also living up to your potential. Some of these life goals clash. When I have travelled for a month and been around nature I am generally ready to give up everything and live out my hunter-gatherer fantasy in a tree house by the ocean somewhere on an island, but when I am back home I get sucked back into a productive routine and into trying to obtain a career in investigative journalism. I am graduating next month, so we’ll see if I somehow manage to be a an investigative journalist slash gatherer.
8. Where do you feel most at home, outside of the place that you are currently living?
Australia, Bali and Italy.
9. Do you think women have a particularly special bond with nature? If so, how would you describe this bond, and what relationship do you personally have with nature?
Generally I don’t think there is anything more special about a woman’s bond with nature than a man’s, except for when it comes to giving birth. Being pregnant and giving birth and anything that comes with it is something that is so natural and instinctive that only women experience. I feel great when I have nature around. It humbles me and shows me that in the greater scheme of things I am just one little particle. We tend to overestimate the impact of our lives but in the end it doesn't really matter what I decide to do with my life (unless it is harming others’/the planet). This idea comforts and centers me.
10. What song or album can you always put on to bring you back to yourself?
"The Moment" - Tame Impala
"I have given up on wanting to look perfect a long time ago and have accepted I will always have some belly fat and a big bum, but that only annoys me if I know I have been mistreating my body"