Hi! The words below are you if you’ve ever struggled with your body image. Maybe you’ve wished you look more like someone else? Well, inspired by words from Carin-Isabel Knoop (Executive Director of the Case Research and Writing Group at Harvard Business School, who I’ve enjoyed collaborating with recently) I wrote this poem to help boost self-esteem.

What Matters?

Quick to judge on outward appearance

Society tells us looks matter

What matters is kindness?

Our 'good enough' talents?

(not clothes size or biceps circumference)

Some words that can help?

“I love me, my whole self”

(with 'blemishes' 'faults' we all have them)

We're meant to be this

(our 'quirks' and 'mistakes' are part of the planned imperfection)

Acceptance of this

can bring us great peace

Imperfectly perfectly perfect

© Emma Rose 2025

Here’s the article that inspired the poem above:

Beyond Perfect: Bodies, Barbie, and Boardrooms

Here’s more words written by Carin, on a different topic, that feature a poem of mine ~ they may be of interest if you enjoy considering how we learn:

How Not Being Able to Write Made Me a Better Writer: Lessons from a Comic Case

My words are for you if you're loving, lonely or longing for a better world ~ touching on topics such as self-care, mental health and climate care ~ to help you feel calmer, happier and healthier.

If you enjoy the notes and poems I write, find more on Leaflet here, and on Medium and Bluesky

Thank you for reading today!

Love, Emma 🌹

P.S for every poem I write and share publicly I donate to a tree planting charity. November 2025 - donation total equates to 225 trees planted 🌲🌴🌳

©2025 Emma Rose. All Rights Reserved