If you haven't seen the Jeffree Star/Shane Dawson YouTube series, I highly recommend watching it if you have the time. It's incredibly raw, honest, real, funny, and a little inappropriate. If you don't find yourself watching it, I'll try to summarize it for you.

Jeffree Star is a very famous former-musician, current empire-building make-up artist who, up until now, has remained somewhat of a mystery to the internet. Seemingly countless scandals follow Jeffree, whose reputation follows the narrative of "cold-hearted, goes through friends quickly." Shane Dawson deep dives into Jeffree's history, business, makeup factory, scandals, and truth. It's safe to say that the world's view of Jeffree has done a complete 180° turn.

The series has led me to contemplate the fear and anxiety people feel surrounding acceptance, love, and judgment. One of the most heartbreaking experiences is hearing a loved one (or even a stranger) speak on their insecurities. Knowing that someone you love and cherish has the ability to think and speak so lowly of themselves is shocking. I'll speak for myself when I say that listening to people express their insecurities, reluctance to be their true selves, or generally low self-esteem deeply connects me to them, and I usually want to give them the biggest hug my body can produce.

When we're watching these videos of people sharing their backgrounds, love, acceptance, appreciation, and compassion are all evoked among us. If you feel connected to one single person through their story, imagine how many others feel the same, and the connection that would surely spark between you and them. One person telling their story creates a giant web of people who relate to one another.

Yet we continue to be doubtful of ourselves and harsh towards others. Why is it so difficult to carry out this love into our everyday lives? Maybe social media causes us to give into narcissism. Maybe we just forget that everyone carries something with them... I guess it's because we don't know everyone's story.

The point is that we haven't heard everyone's stories, and we shouldn't have to in order to show compassion and kindness to those around us. Everyone holds a different pain in their heart, but what connects us all is that we have that baggage. Many of our stories are similar or have overlap. If we accept with open arms those who share their narratives, we should be just as willing to celebrate those who remain silent; they are just as deserving.

It's time we stop pretending to be people we aren't. Stop making others feel judged. Be open and honest and love one another. We all obsess over the same weird, dorky, guilty-pleasure things. We all have insecurities. We all have dark thoughts. Imagine how powerful we could become if we embraced who we are and accepted it. We're all so much more similar than we recognize that if we started being who we truly are we, disregarding the traditional narrative society has laid out for us, our eyes would open to the truth, and we'd all be that much more connected.

Women especially have this potential inside of us. Feminine energy is so strong and powerful when all the fragmented sources are joined, which is why for so long we've been conditioned to be insecure and submissive. If we get past this and begin to view each other as sisters and teammates instead of competitors and enemies, the sheer influence and love we would foster are beyond comprehension.

I challenge you (and myself) to try to view others as their genuine selves. Stop assuming the worst of people you don't know. Recognize that there really is power in numbers, and remember that as social creatures humans by nature crave love and acceptance. Treat people with kindness.