Fall is here! And with it comes these photos of me in digitally orange-colour underwear!

So things in my life have been changing a lot lately, much like the leaves on the trees. I'm only working one job currently so I have much more free time. And I've made it a priority to focus more on my photography. Or as I call it: Taking myself more seriously. And apparently in order to do that I need to start by photographing the scariest thing I can think of. Yep. Myself. Now, if you want the whole pitch about why I take photos like this you can see it here: http://ourlostthings.blogspot.ca/2012_01_01_archive.html Under the January 11th post.

All the things I said in that post are still true. Except I have a slightly better idea of what bra size I should be wearing. I'm still not ashamed that I look like this. I still think it's important to feel sexy and beautiful. I'm proud that I'm not a size 2, although women of all sizes are gorgeous as well.

I saw a picture on Facebook this past summer of a VERY curvy girl rocking a bikini in knee-deep water. The caption read "Summer; Not just for size zero". There was a flood of comments. Some people were incredibly supportive, expressing how proud they were to have curves too. However some people had a much different reaction. Some people mentioned how they think being plus size means being unhealthy. Some people just expressed how unattractive they thought the model was. One comment said something along the lines of "Summer isn't just for plus size people either!" 

I want to address these comments and offer my own opinion.

1. "Being plus size is not healthy."

Here's my first reaction: Says who? First of all, plus size does NOT mean Obese. Having a little more meat on my bones doesn't mean that I'll die of cardiac arrest at the age of 45. And even if I was obese, should I stop loving myself because of it? Being ok with my body doesn't mean that I no longer want to take care of it. I can love myself and still want better for myself all at the same time.

2. "Plus size girls are not attractive."

You have every right to your own opinion. And I personally don't mind if you express it. Please keep in mind that it is YOUR opinion and yours alone. Other may share the same belief as you, however you only have your own voice and can only speak for yourself. That being said, there are lots of people who love curves on a woman. Myself included.

3. "Summer isn't just for plus size."

Ok. Really? This is the one that bugs me the most. When skinny people get upset because curvy girls aren't afraid to show off their bodies and be proud of it. I want to make one thing perfectly clear. Just because I LOVE my body at a size 8 or 10 or 12 or whatever I might be, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't love yours at a size 4 or 2 or zero. So for all you skinny minnies who get tired of hearing "I love my curves," please don't think it's an attack on you. It's only us loving ourselves. And you should too. Us girls are told far too often not to be happy with what we have, even though in my opinion, we are one of the most beautiful things on this planet. The last thing we need is to start turning on each other.

On a final note, why are we all so afraid to tell each other how beautiful we are? If there's anybody out there listening, I challenge you to tell somebody they're beautiful. Just because... They are.