Learning to love yourself is just one of the hardest things you will ever have to do in this world, and the society that we live in doesn't make it any easier.

Thanks to social media and other platforms, we begin to find more and more flaws within ourselves. We now start body shaming because we look nothing like those Victoria Secret models. We try to turn into the spitting image of these models, and because of this, we become our own monsters. There are people taking dieting to a whole new level just because they are trying to fit the mold society has created. Everything that we try to do never seems to be enough. I can honestly tell you that we are our biggest critics.

Everyone is fighting not to be too fat or too skinny. Either way, you should be happy with yourself. It is about how you would like to see yourself, not about how this world would like to see you. You can't start loving yourself until you feel secure in your own skin.

Another thing is mental illnesses. So many people are scared to talk to someone about what they are going through. Many stigmas encompass the world of mental illness, whether it be depression, anxiety, etc. We believe the people around us think we are crazy or think that we are over exaggerating, but we're not. You should be able to love yourself, even if those around you can't seem to. I know that all of us have heard the saying, "you have to love yourself before someone else can love you." That's the thing, though, sometimes we get so caught up in loving someone else that we forget to love ourselves too. Love yourself as much as you love those closest to you.

You are beautiful inside and out. I hope that one day when you look in the mirror you are able to see just how beautiful you are, and how much you are worth. I want you to fall in love with the person that is looking back at you. I hope you smile more when you look at the pictures you have taken of yourself, without ridiculing everything that you find as a flaw. I can guarantee that when other people look at you, they do not see those flaws, and I hope one day they won't be visible to you either.

Self-love is all about putting yourself first and knowing how to love yourself through the good and bad times. Do not let this world shape you into someone that you are not, and don't let them take away the love you have for yourself.

You must be able to look in the mirror and look at yourself through loving eyes, once you do that no one else's opinions will matter. Not everyone is going to love you, but the least you could do is love yourself.