Social media is an attractive concept, but it’s also rather detrimental at times. We spend hours every week scrolling through images of perfectly positioned lives in confined square spaces and we can’t help but hold ourselves to this invisible standard that has become to be expected of all young women.

She’s prettier than me…

She’s skinnier than me…

Her teeth are whiter than mine…

She looks so much happier than me…

And you know what? I hate to burst your bubble, but you’re probably right. The reality is that there will always be someone who is prettier than you. There will always be someone who has a more toned body, teeth that are whiter than your's, and honestly, I’m sure there are people out there who are happier than you are right now too. Such is life.

But, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. There are over 7 billion people in this world and we were not created to be an exact copy of any other person on this Earth. How beautiful is that?

You cannot compare yourself to something or someone that is not relative to who you are. A pretty girl does not diminish your own beauty. A skinny figure on your feed does not make you fat. You are not the same and that does not make you less.

You yourself are unique! You are beautiful and wonderful, and you were intentionally designed to be exactly the way you are. You are the head and not the tail. If we could train our brains to be appreciative of the beauty around us, rather than critical and constantly comparing, we could become more empowered and confident in who we already are.

And trust me, you’re already wonderful. You’re beautiful, talented, smart, funny, and amazing, among a myriad of other things. Your smile lights up a room and there are people who love you, in case you haven't been reminded of that yet today. No one can take that away from you. Don’t diminish the wonderful things that make you who you are by being too caught up appreciating these things about someone else.