People Share Their Scars & The Stories Behind Them

2015 has made huge strides in the body positive movement, encouraging and supporting people to love themselves as they want to be, and not to subject themselves to someone else's ideas for them. While the main focus has been directed towards loving the body you're born with, a new movement is sending love to the body at any stage of life with stories about why you should love your scars.

There's a dual stigma attached to scars. To some, scars are dark reminders, poetic markings of imperfections or symbols of loss or tragedy. To others, scars are marks of strength, reminders of the body's resilience and symbols for power. And depending on the scar's origin, a person might feel proud or shameful. Scars come in all different shapes and sizes and textures and colors and sensitivities. Some are painful to touch, some are numb, some are hidden, some are obvious. But they all have one thing in common, which is: a story.

What happens when a few people with scars volunteer to tell their story is bound to encourage others with scars to change the way they think about their markings. It only takes a few brave people to inspire a whole movement. As someone with a few scars of my own, I look forward to the challenge of rethinking the way I regard my markings. They're not going anywhere, so I might as well accept them. Here are a few highlights from the touching video.

This is how they felt when they first got their scars:

Especially during adolescence, things that make us different make us embarrassed. We don't want more reasons to feel like we don't fit in so it's hard to embrace what makes us unique at that age.

This is how they feel now:

When we get older, it's easier to cherish our differences. What might have once evoked shame now ignites pride and gratitude. Scars are just part of who you are and where you've been and what you've been through.

Watch the whole video here:

Images: YouTube (5)