I’ve been reflecting on a lot in the last few weeks. I realised I’ve come a long, long way from my younger days. Confidence is hard to come by at times especially when you’ve received constant negative feed back from a young age. I have a lot of doubts in myself at times, but there are also many more times I can feel confident and assured of myself.
A few weeks ago, the slack crew established some new lines at a quiet spot in a forest next to a beautiful waterfall. I’m so happy I was able to be there with them, and celebrate that success. In that weekend, I was also able to achieve a lot outside of highlining and slacklining. I feel like I’ve become more confident with my body image, as well as trusting myself and my skills.
Looking back at some photos my friend Hayden took of me during the weekend, I realised I have come to be much more comfortable with my own body. It was pretty hot and humid day. After the hour long walk-in, my cotton top was drenched in sweat so I took it off. It was an eventful day- I won’t forget getting chased by an angry wombat anytime soon. At some point, I wandered down to the waterfall and ended up jumping onto a line right next to it. As usual I find the heights quite mentally challenging, but I took my time, got used to the falls, calmed my breathing and eventually I did manage to walk the line. It was incredible, fighting through the fear with each step, noticing how the line moves and trying to adjust my body accordingly. The last thing I was thinking about when Hayden took out his camera was whether or not I looked fat.
Continue reading “Confidence: Navigating body-shaming & implicit bias”