Nobody's Perfect

One thing that constantly comes to mind while reading other blogs or looking at someone else's Instagram is, "omg, her life looks perfect". It's been said that our Instagrams are our highlight reel of our lives while the behind-the-scenes are still hidden away but how often do we believe that? Not very often.

a snap from my trip to Chicago last weekend

Instagram and blogging often glamorizes all of our lives. The struggles we all face are hidden away behind pictures that make you believe the girl behind the Instagram is a fabulous jet-setter who doesn't have a care in the world, a college student who always has it together, or a fashionista who always looks great. When you look only at that aspect of someone, it's so easy to feel like you don't measure up.

Despite how often we update our social media, we purposely leave the messy parts of life out. You know what I'm talking about: the moment when you're almost late to school and you run frantically down the hallway trying to avoid a tardy. Or when your hair is in a bun because you haven't washed it in a few days. Or when you stay up late doing calculus homework and are two minutes away from tearing out your hair. Or when you're dealing with friend drama. You get the idea.

I read Emily Ley's Grace, Not Perfection over the weekend while traveling and it really struck the cord with me that life is supposed to be messy and imperfect. Yes, a messy life can be frustrating. It doesn't come with all of the Instagram follows and the "oh my gosh, you're goals" comments. But it's pretty rewarding at the same time.

The low moments make the highs feel even higher and isn't that better than a perfect life where you never hit the lows but never hit the highs? And trust me, everyone experiences those low moments where things don't go your way but those aren't documented on blogs or social media like the highs are.

I've fallen into the trap of looking for perfection so many times. I'm a perfectionist and it's so easy to compare what you're going through to what others display about their lives, usually on social media. Despite what my blog or Instagram may show you, I'm far from perfect too. I don't always walk out the door looking perfectly put together or know what I'm doing 100% of the time. The pressure to be perfect is real and in all honesty, nobody's perfect.

This post is bit more wordy and random than usual but it's so important to think about (especially the next time you're wearing workout clothes again with messy hair wondering how everyone else has the time to have it all be "together").