When blogger Kenzie Brenna looks at her stretch marks, which she calls "my least favourite part of my body," she tends to have an internal monologue over how she feels about them on any given day. Last week, she shared her thoughts in an Instagram post with photos of the stretch marks on her stomach.
"They're not usually this noticeable," she wrote. "If you only had the money to get rid on them."
"They actually look kinda cool," she continued, writing out the rest of her thoughts.
"Sorta like a the beginning of a story."
"More like the beginning of a LONG story."
"Would I erase my story to not have these?"
"You'd probably be more comfortable without them."
"Would I truly though?"
"Okay ask yourself the question."
"I don't wanna."
"Just do it."
"Does this affect the quality of who I am?"
"No."
"Would it make you a better person if you got rid of these marks?"
"No."
"Would it make you kinder, more generous and a better lover if you had the money to erase them?"
"No."
"Then you're perfect."
"I don't feel perfect."
"That's cause perfect isn't a feeling."
"More like the beginning of a LONG story."
"Would I erase my story to not have these?"
"You'd probably be more comfortable without them."
"Would I truly though?"
"Okay ask yourself the question."
"I don't wanna."
"Just do it."
"Does this affect the quality of who I am?"
"No."
"Would it make you a better person if you got rid of these marks?"
"No."
"Would it make you kinder, more generous and a better lover if you had the money to erase them?"
"No."
"Then you're perfect."
"I don't feel perfect."
"That's cause perfect isn't a feeling."
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"You guys get it," she concluded. "You don't have to be in love with yourself everyday, but I PROMISE if you practice self love you will have more loving moments with yourself than you could ever dream of."
Since Brenna posted the photos last week, they've received over 22,000 likes on Instagram as her followers chimed in to express their appreciation for her openness.
Brenna told Glamour that she was inspired to share her inner thoughts because she's an actress, and finds it helpful to come to terms with what's in her head. Plus, it helps to open up the conversation about things we don't often talk about.
"I've done inner-dialogue posts before, and the amount of solidarity I receive from them is always unexpected," she told Glamour. "The lesson I gather from sharing these private internal conversations is that you are much less alone than you could ever believe. There's a certain type of connectedness that manifests itself when we allow people into our unseen hearts and minds."
Brenna is refreshingly honest about her relationship with her body. While it'd be great if we could all love and accept our bodies all the time, that's not always realistic — and that's okay. What matters is that we make an effort to be a little kinder to ourselves.