Sometimes we look in the mirror and hate what we see. We allow ourselves to only see the imperfections instead of focusing on our beautiful qualities. The negative thoughts swarm our minds and then we fall into the trap of a poor body image. It happens to people of all ages, but what we have to learn to do is treasure the things we love about ourselves.

It is a hard thing to change the thought process to accept our flaws and love our imperfections. I have struggled with this concept for a long time, easily letting myself travel down a negative route of critiquing everything about myself. I've discovered that we all want what we don't have, and that is what causes us to suffer. We strive for perfection when we really just need to realize that no one is perfect and it's ok to have defects, that's what makes us human.

What helps us learn to see our positives is to focus on the blessings we have. For example, if you have working hands and feet, that is a blessing that not everyone has. That may seem like such a simple part of your image to be happy about, but it puts you into a self-love perspective. I think that we all sometimes harshly judge our identity; the way we look, act, talk, and what makes us unique. And if we are always beating ourselves up, then we start to believe that we are worthless, and being happy becomes almost impossible.

I've been down the road of self-criticism, as I think many of us have, and it's hard to turn around. But over time I have trained myself to think differently. Every time you look into a mirror or think something negative about yourself, you have to shut it down with an opposite thought. Force yourself to think about something as simple as the ability to walk, because not everyone can. Once you start to reflect on your positives, it becomes harder to attack yourself.

Body image is a struggle for so many people, trust me when I say you are not alone. The media is a big influence on how we see ourselves. There is always a perfect image of someone with a flawless body that makes us unhappy about the way we look. In reality, most of the pictures we see are just taken at the right angle or edited to show people the best view. Just because someone looks absolutely perfect in a picture, doesn't mean that's the real way they look. Even those who post those pictures most likely have something they would change about themselves. We all have deficiencies, it's how we choose to live with them that makes us confident.

I've learned that self-love is super important. If you don't love yourself first, then how can you love others? There is so much hatred in society, inwardly and outwardly. Does anyone ever stop to think that we are all human? That we all make mistakes and we all go through struggles in life? That we all have to fight to feel comfortable in our own skin?

You can have a great body image, you can be confident and inspire others to love themselves. It's not easy to change your self-image, but it's not impossible. I'm still trying to heal from my own negative thoughts of myself. I've found that every day is an opportunity to embrace who I am and be grateful for my identity. Once you start to do this, you will feel happier. I definitely experienced a change in heart, and no longer do I want to beat myself up. In my opinion, once you believe in yourself and embark in self-love, then you can conquer the world.