Leggings vs. Jeans

The Famous Five, or is it Famous Fifteen? In my case, The Famous Fifty-five! There is a stereotype of all uni students that says we all put on an immense amount of weight during our first year.

When I saw my family for the first time after 3 months away, my mum and sister told me I had gained a scary amount of weight.

And I didn’t notice. I’d only been gone 3 months! It was impossible.

How? All my clothes fit!… Or so I thought.

I studied in Scotland so it was fairly cold meaning I wore most of my warm clothes, oversized Tees and warm Leggings. Leggings stretch! Leggings grow WITH you. I never wore my jeans because it was never jeans-weather. I thought they were being ridiculous, and I got the jeans I took with me and put one leg in. My jeans stopped at my knees. They didn’t even have the courtesy to get passed my thigh. Jeans don’t stretch.

Sometimes we do not see how big we are. Not in terms of weight, but in terms of the influence we have. I have a very adaptable personality, so if people see me doing well, I probably haven’t noticed. I have placed myself in a view where I see myself as I simply am.

My friends from high-school and I were catching up and we shared what we were up to. I was told I was doing great. Now, they might have just been trying to be nice… But as I was listing what I had done during the time we weren’t talking, even I was pretty amazed by my accomplishments.

I never knew how big I had gotten because I never checked. I never thought I was growing, not because I was “staying in my own lane” or “glowing and drinking my mind-my-business water”. I was still as insecure as I had ever been because I never took time to see what I had become.

Take time to remind yourself of how far you’ve come, how far God has brought you. It will encourage to act and be who you actually are. It aligns your potential with greatness if you evaluate your growth.

We are all in our default settings of wearing leggings, we have to be adaptable to the world, but once in a while, try on your old jeans, you’ll see you don’t fit. You are bigger than you were. Even if you don’t think you’ve grown or developed, you have!