To begin to pick at the theme ‘Future Bodies’, I began to consider and think deeply about my own future body. Throughout the lockdowns I struggled deeply with my weight and body image, in the first putting on lots of weight as I had not a lot to do and nowhere to go. And then drastically losing weight in the second and third as I became obsessed with ‘clean’ eating and being in control. I was consumed by the desire to be perfect, and I am only now beginning to understand the spiral behind it.

Through completing research into ‘Future Bodies’ I am now learning that this was not just the case for me but for millions of others as well. I did not realise the detrimental effects of striving to be perfect and always being in control, with the main factor being the number on the scales, and how this can impact your day to day life.

In society there is an overwhelming pressure to be perfect but by lowering our expectations of ourselves to be more realistic, we can be kinder to ourselves and learn from mistakes as well as building the resilience to bounce back from failures.

Nobody is perfect, but everyone wants to be.