Here is an anecdote of the time I went on holiday to somewhere really hot and sunny. I shaved my armpits, legs, and pubic hair every single day. It was time-consuming, inconvenient, and very itchy. And it physically hurt to get into the salty sea water every day when I had lots of little cuts on my legs and bikini line. But I’d rather be hairless than comfortable.

Every morning, I would spend at least half an hour applying makeup to hide my dark circles, blemishes, spots, uneven brows, the list goes on. Then I spent the whole time worrying that it was going to sweat off in the heat, or my mascara was going to run, or my sunglasses were smudging my foundation.

I agonised over how my hair looked at least 10 times a day because the humidity made it look so “frizzy”. I’d spend so much time straightening it, or braiding it, or spraying a hundred different products into it to make it more “tamable”. Time that could’ve been spent actually having fun.

Going for a swim in the sea was a task in itself. I couldn’t let my hair or face get wet because it would “ruin” all my hard work and if someone splashed me, I’d have to dodge all of the holiday photos until I’d “fixed” myself. So, I’d just watch everyone else enjoy themselves while I sat on a sun lounger, my new worry being whether everyone was looking at my stretch marks or cellulite, or if my bikini bottoms gave me a muffin top, or if people were judging my flat chest.

My swimsuit didn’t empower me, my concealer didn’t empower me, my de-frizzing hairpsray didn’t empower me, my itchy, hairless pubic area didn’t empower me. These “choices” bred insecurity. Think critically about the choices you are making - are they choices that are freely made? Or are you making them because they’re expected of you and you’re afraid of the consequences of not meeting that expectation? Are they even your choice at all?