This blog was meant to be lighthearted. A casual way of informing others of my day-to-day life and the little things I learn; small and comic. Today, though, I learnt something important, and so this post has a slightly more serious message.
I met up with the superviser of my research project today for lunch. I arrived early, which by the way never happens, and so I sat down outside the cafe to wait for her. While I was waiting I noticed a group of people standing around chatting.
I noticed them for three reasons:
1. They were all wearing the same thing
2. They all had clipboards with pens and paper
and
3. They all had extremely amazing bodies ... except for one of them.
As it turns out they were from a well known gym chain here in Melbourne, trying to promote the gym and sign up people for membership. They all split up and approached people on the street and talked to them. Usually, I'm sure, all eyes would have been on the majority of the group who were so insanely good looking, like elite-athlete-bodies-with-supermodel-faces good looking, it was crazy. Today not so much. My eyes were not on them at all, my eyes were on this one girl who looked nothing like the rest of them.
Why? Because you couldn't help but look at her. She exuded not just happiness but confidence and grace and strength, and well, pretty much every characteristic every woman wants to have. I could actually feel myself smiling when I looked at her. If there was one person that would make me want to sign up to that gym, it would have been her; even though she wasn't particularly fit looking and she was no where close to having that "ideal" body gyms usually promote.
Watching her, luckily along with other people otherwise I could have been considered borderline creepy, I heard her enthusiasm for the gym, exercise in general and living the healthy lifestyle. She mentioned nothing about losing weight and trying to look like the others.
Now, she may just have been very good at her job and actually hate all things exercise related, but I don't care. I would like to congratulate this gym, and all other gyms, who promote people of all kinds; who put all people on their posters, on TV, and in the streets. Fat, thin, tall, short, wide, narrow, male, female, muscled, flabby. Whatever. Firstly, it's a very smart advertising move, because it says they welcome all people and that all people enjoy being there. Secondly, and more importantly, it is sending such an important message; exercise is for everyone.
The gym, and exercise in general, is definitely not about looking a particular way. Its not even about looking good really. It's about feeling good. Feeling stronger, feeling fitter, feeling healthier, feeling thinner, feeling more confident.
Now, this isn't a novel brand spanking new idea. People have told me this for ages! I just never truly believed it until I saw this girl. I have never been, nor will I ever be, a daintly built girl. I could exercise every hour of every day and still not have that small, size 8, body. Knowing this, however, never stopped me from turning up to gym classes, seeing these smaller girls and thinking that if I kept working hard and exercising a tonne, I could look like them.
But I can't. And that girl can't. And most people out there can't. And thats okay.
Because exercising is fun, gym is fun, the people who do it are fun; and it makes me happy. It took me a long time to realise this, but in the end, that's all I need from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment