Hi! This note is for 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 (who I’ve enjoyed collaborating with recently), I wrote the words below 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 Carin’s essay that inspired the poem above:
Beyond Perfect: Bodies, Barbie, and Boardrooms
Carin is the Executive Director of the Case Research and Writing Group at Harvard Business School. Here are 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
Carin has collaborated with other writers in words I’ve enjoyed reading on Medium, and co-authored this book that may be of interest:
Compassionate Management of Mental Health in the Modern Workplace
Thank you for reading today.
Notes I write are for you if you're loving, lonely or longing for a better world ~ to help you feel calmer, happier and healthier.
Love, Emma 🌹
P.S. If you love what I share you can:
gift a tip to support donations I make to a tree charity for each poem I write and share publicly. November 2025 - donation total equates to 225 trees planted 🌲🌴🌳
enjoy reading from the list below that holds all the notes l've shared on Medium:
©2025 Emma Rose. All Rights Reserved.