Body image: I know, this is a super cliché topic, but don't roll your eyes just yet. I'm going to go out on a limb and say something bold; I've never weighed more in my life than I do now, but I have also never felt more beautiful than I do now.

For a very long time, long before a little girl should be concerned about these things, the number on a scale has been my greatest insecurity. Middle School and Early to Mid-High School were the most difficult years dealing with it, however the end of High School and in my first year of college, I've never felt better.

Leaving my small community behind and being thrown into a new kind of independent lifestyle, I've learned so much about how I perceive my body as well as how I perceive others'.

1. Not one body is shaped like another:

In my middle school and high school years, I didn't have the same insight I have now. Then, I thought everyone could be summed up as either being big or small. Living with such a closed perception of the variety of body types, I felt extremely different. I felt as though I was a minority and an undesired one at that.

Being older and in a new place, I've come to the simple truth that every body is so different yet also so beautiful. There aren't two body types or five or ten. The limit does not exist. (Heck, yeah that was a Mean Girls quote).

2. You don't need to be in a relationship to feel beautiful:

I definitely don't believe in going at life alone. On the contrary, I believe that relationships are crucial to living a life that enables a person to grow and be joyful. One day that will include a romantic relationship, but opposite to what I thought for most of my life, I don't need that kind of relationship to "verify" anything. I know that I am beautiful, valuable, and significant, whether I'm in a relationship or not.

3. You exude in your body and appearance what's inside your mind and heart:

When in those difficult adolescent years, I walked with my shoulders extending past my chest and my eyes fixated on the ground. I know that I didn't exude beauty because I was convinced in my mind and in my heart that I wasn't beautiful.

When you come to terms with how astoundingly beautiful you are and with the incredible beauty of all people, it simply exudes into your attitude, your face, your eyes, your smile, how you walk, your personality, who you are. Find beauty in everything and you'll be left with nothing but love for yourself and others.

Not only being at peace with my body but falling love with it has taken nearly 20 years. Of course, there are moments, days, and weeks when I feel far from beautiful. These are the moments I need to simply focus on the fire that is in my soul and not long after I'm back to pounding pavement, ecstatic to be at home in the body God has blessed me with.