"And if I asked you to name all the things that you love, how long would it take for you to name yourself?" – Unknown
When I was younger I was never the "skinny girl" or the "pretty girl" to most people—as a matter of fact, I was the opposite. Like most young girls, I was learning who I was and trying to impress every one around me. Then my life changed.
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I was 14 when I began to cause myself to have an eating disorder. People called me fat, the media told me I was supposed to be a size zero, boys considered me one of the guys because I wasn't skinny enough or pretty enough for them to date, and so on. I would try everything I could to make myself skinny. From not eating for days, to eating nothing but salads, to not eating again, etc. Until I was almost 17 years old I struggled with self image and self worth. Until the day I finally said to myself, "You are enough the way you are."
“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” – Amy Bloom
If you are struggling with loving yourself, here are my top five ways to start learning to love yourself again.
Don't accept negative thoughts.
When something pops up in your mind and you think bad about yourself, look in the mirror and tell yourself that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are unique, you are beautiful—you are you, and that is the greatest thing you could be.
Do not let the media tell you what "beauty" looks like.
If we constantly compared ourselves to what the media wants us to look like, then the most beautiful of person is still not enough. You create your own beauty. Have blue hair, have the side of your head shaved, be a size one or be a size 15. Beauty is not only an outward appearance, but an inward one as well.
Fall In love with taking care of yourself.
I absolutely love to workout, I love to get my nails done, I love to have a girls night every now and then, and I love to have a day of spoiling. Everyone has a different way they take care of themselves. Whatever yours is, remember you have to take care of you, physically and mentally.
Never compare yourself to anyone.
I believe most girls struggle with comparing themselves to someone else. I do. We look at someone and we love their hair, their makeup, their body, their eyes, all the way down to even their eyebrows. Then we look in the mirror and we tear ourselves apart. Stop it! Remember, "A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it, it just blooms." So bloom! Become your own beautiful self and bloom.
We are all different.
God created us to be many things. All unique in our own way. When you accept who you are, a new self love will over take you. What fun would it be if we all looked the same, anyway? Embrace who you were created to be! Your beauty is not measured by the size of your waist, the color of your eyes, the length of your hair. You are imperfect and that makes you perfect!
"I found I was more confident when I stopped trying to be someone else's definition of beautiful and started being my own." – Remington Miller
