"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Eleanor Roosevelt

I have always been shy and hesitant about bragging about what I am wearing or even post a picture of myself. When I first made an Instagram I was hesitant to post, but as I grow I realize that a lot of people on Instagram are there to provide positive feedback and not to start arguments. I love getting comments like "this is so cute" and "you guys are so cute! 💖💖" from @rachel.hunnicutt and many other positive comments. I have had comments saying how beautiful I am, and how my caption is punny and amazing and it makes someone smile. I try to post a picture a day and post selfies along with group pictures or "usies" as my mom calls them. You will be surprised by the amount of positive feedback that you can get just by posting a selfie with a pun or quote.

Anyways, this is how Instagram helps me feel confident about myself: let me give you a bit of a back story. When I was in sixth grade I was heavily bullied emotionally and physically. I was called ugly and told that I looked "too nerdy" with glasses and braces on and that I would "never find a boyfriend." I would come home from school with bruises on my shins from being kicked because I was ugly and needed to fix my body to be pretty. These words mentally scarred me to a point where I wanted to cover up my body and hide from society.

After that problem was taken care of, I was starting to feel confident again because of my friends and I started dressing like I wanted again. About three years later, I was in a relationship: an abusive one. My ex would call me fat, ugly, stupid, a whore, really basically any negative word to call someone. It made me start wearing pants, a t-shirt, and a jacket, just so my body wouldn't show because I started to believe these words.

Anyways, back to Instagram. I made my Instagram account @rainy.the.brainy in September of 2013. My first post wasn't anything major but through the years I've posted things that make me happy and feel confident that I am pretty. The second that I find a picture of myself that I like I want to post it immediately. The immediate positive feedback I get makes me realize that I can post a picture of me when I'm in a hoodie and acting like a ninja and I still get likes and comments for being fun and cute--it makes me enthusiastic.

I just want everyone reading this to take this last bit into account, YOU are beautiful. YOU are handsome. YOU can be confident in ANYTHING you do, whether it be on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or whatever. Be confident in who you are and don't let others bring you down.