“Beautiful or ugly.” “Skinny or fat.” “Tall or short.” “Young or old.” We live in a world surrounded by labels. We are told every day that you MUST fit into a certain category. And once you wear that label, that is how you must define yourself. These labels start at such a young age, that by the time we have a chance to try to decide who we really are, the world has already decided for us. When you aren’t given the opportunity to decide who you are, you can quickly lose sight of who you want to become. This can lead you down a path of self-destruction and self-hate.
I walked down the path of self hate and self destruction for almost 10 years of my life. I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. I was never going to fit the labels that I was told I needed to. I put myself down every day, to the point I allowed others to think they could do the same. I took drastic measures to ensure I was skinny enough and pretty enough to be the “ideal” girl. But for every pound I lost, I thought I needed to lose two more. I soon lost the person I was, striving to be a person I thought I wanted to become. A person that was unrealistic, that was communicated by the media as the “perfect” person. But at some point in that journey, I realized I was never going to be happy. If I only became someone society told me I had to be, I would never become the person I truly wanted to be. Instead of telling myself all the things I hated about who I was, I started focusing on the parts of me that I loved.
Loving who you are is not easy, but it’s achievable. It starts with acceptance. Accept who you are as a person, from the inside out. What you deem as “flaws” are what make you unique. If you were exactly like everyone else, the world would be a very boring place. Next comes embracing who you are. Take the parts that make you unique and make something out of them! The unique parts of you are what will take you the farthest in life. Embrace your intelligence, your wit, and your quirks; they are the greatest parts of you. And lastly, love yourself. As cliche as it sounds, you have to take the time to fall in love with who you are. Do whatever it takes to remind yourself how great you really are. Every time you accomplish a goal, remind yourself how awesome you are. Every time you do something you didn’t think you could, remind yourself how amazing you are. Allow yourself to become the best possible version of yourself! I challenge you today to ask yourself, "What do I love about me?". Take the time to write those things down, and look at them every day. They will serve as a daily reminder of the amazing person
you truly are.