As women, we often tend to focus on the bits of our bodies we don’t like and ignore the rest. Women like Thando Hopa, an international model with albinism and lawyer, challenges the conventional idea of beauty and inspires us to believe we are good enough as we are.
Thando admits she used to have a conventional image of what beauty was and to change, she first had to accept her own image.
‘I had to embrace the fact that I don’t have a conventional beauty image, but that my image is also beautiful. So I had to go through a personal process.’
Thando says this journey is complex and so much more than just one thing you don’t happen to like about yourself. ‘There are many aspects of yourself you have to continuously love. Your weight gain, your pimples… It’s not as if accepting one part of myself means I now have a magical self-love brush.’
Thando’s advice on self-love: 1 For yourself Be careful with the way you talk to yourself. When you criticise yourself, ask if you would say that to your best friend. Then rather say something like, ‘I’m fine the way I am. I’m capable.’ 2 – For your child Tell your child they are capable, smart, beautiful or handsome – even if they don’t believe you. My father would tell me I was beautiful, and I would say to him he was lying and only saying that because he’s my father. But it was profound to me.
Read more: Another celeb we’re inspired by is the hilarious Thembsie Matu.
Love yourself – you are good enough
Images: Gallo Images/Getty Images
As women, we often tend to focus on the bits of our bodies we don’t like and ignore the rest. Women like Thando Hopa, an international model with albinism and lawyer, challenges the conventional idea of beauty and inspires us to believe we are good enough as we are.
Thando admits she used to have a conventional image of what beauty was and to change, she first had to accept her own image.
‘I had to embrace the fact that I don’t have a conventional beauty image, but that my image is also beautiful. So I had to go through a personal process.’
Thando says this journey is complex and so much more than just one thing you don’t happen to like about yourself. ‘There are many aspects of yourself you have to continuously love. Your weight gain, your pimples… It’s not as if accepting one part of myself means I now have a magical self-love brush.’
Thando’s advice on self-love: 1 For yourself Be careful with the way you talk to yourself. When you criticise yourself, ask if you would say that to your best friend. Then rather say something like, ‘I’m fine the way I am. I’m capable.’ 2 – For your child Tell your child they are capable, smart, beautiful or handsome – even if they don’t believe you. My father would tell me I was beautiful, and I would say to him he was lying and only saying that because he’s my father. But it was profound to me.
Read more: Another celeb we’re inspired by is the hilarious Thembsie Matu.
