Christyn Garrett
Staff Writer
OK, so I don’t personally have a problem getting naked. While I’m not the most confident girl that ever walked the planted, Lord knows I find adventure in the thrill of being in my most natural state… the nude! But I only fully discovered this truth a few weeks ago when I was approached to be the topic of an art project.
My partner in crime who is dually responsible for finding the words to fill this part of the paper also happens to be one of my amazing roommates, referred to on campus as “the nudist” due to her last article.
I was fortunate enough to get to be the naked object of one of her
drawings she described in last week’s column. While I wouldn’t always boast about such endeavors, especially if my parents were on the Graphic’s paper route, I believe there is an important secret behind one’s ability to get naked or to embark on any other adventure for that matter.
As with every girl I know, my journey through the issues of bodyimage has always been a struggle, and the day I was asked to pose nude was not a particularly strong day. I had never just sat naked in front of anyone before, but my life goal is to conquer the things that scare me the most, so I agreed.
I spent most of my time laying there with my eyes shut, not wanting to see her reaction as she had to examine every inch of this not-fit-for-super-modeling body. Forty-five minutes later it was over and she revealed the finished project.
As I looked at this chalk drawing of me in my most vulnerable state I was shocked. It was beautiful… and what is sad is that, it surprised me. Immediately I had this amazing sense of pride about who I am and that I AM a beautiful woman. Not because any guy told me so, but because I said so, and because I saw it in me.
It is my belief that in that moment I grew, I grew stronger. Not because I was doing some crazy college nude experiment, but because I fell in love with another piece of God’s creation. I had found appreciation for a level of myself that had not been fully appreciated…and I think that is where we find strength.
I would argue that the big secret to our strength, male or female, is found in the freedom of discovering how amazing we really are. Not measured by our sense of style, our luck with the opposite sex (thank God), the grades we receive or what organizations we are asked to join. This is beyond the simple external examination and evaluation performed by others; this is a strength found in self realization. Not even self evaluation, but self realization.
God himself created the world and said it was good, but when he made you he said it was VERY good. That means that your glory is greater than anything that has ever taken your breath away in nature.
I’m sure about now we have the religious folks ready to scream humility, but I think there is misconstrued idea that humility equals self loathing and perceived self weakness, and that is sad to me.
We need to distinguish between shame and humility. John Eldredge writes in his book “Waking the Dead,” that “Shame says, ‘I’m nothing to look at. I’m not capable of goodness.’ Humility says, ‘I bear a glory for sure, but it is a reflected glory — a grace given to me.’”
I think it is humbling just to realize how amazing we actually are. So if it takes being painted naked, do it. But I challenge you to try and discover how amazing you are and experience the freedom that brings.
I would like to leave you with a quote from my very wise friend and male Pepperdine student, Joel Christensen, on the kind of strength we should all aspire to:
“What makes a woman strong is knowing that she is beautiful, without looking around and comparing herself to anything or anyone else — if a woman understands her nature, she understands that she’s beautiful.”
02-24-2005
