The first few years I was a “tween” and a teenager, I grew up around a lot of boys who had super fast metabolisms. I was in that “wear tight shirts” faze that every middle school girl went through. I was terrified if my stomach was anything but flat. If I had a little pooch, I would suck that little thing into the deep depths of my ribs and hope nobody saw. I would tighten up my abs and keep them held while standing, and keep my back nice and straight while sitting down. I was paranoid of anyone knowing I could possibly have any meat on my bones. I was self-conscious to the max. It’s taken me years to break this habit. Even when I realized that it so does not matter if you actually have a stomach, I would find myself walking around with a tightened, sucked-in stomach because that is what I was used to doing.

I was sucking it all in.

Along with my stomach, I was sucking in a lot of who I was. I was scared to laugh loudly and smile big. And so so SO many other people are scared of the exact same thing.

So many people walk around absolutely terrified to express themselves or let their real personality shine through. So many people are afraid to show their hurt, their mess-ups, and their fears. So many people are also sucking it all in.

As a population, we need to learn to not only be okay expressing ourselves, but we need to learn to be more than okay with the rest of the world expressing themselves, too. People preach and preach all day long about loving yourself, and the need to be content with who you are. But, when it comes to other people wanting to actually do this, they freak out.

We forget that while, yes, we need to love ourselves because we are created in God’s image, so is the person standing next to you. That person that is expressing themselves a little differently than you would, that person that talks way more than you do, that person that wears clothes in ways you never would, are all humans that God intricately put together and created in His image.

That being said, it is normally easier to love others and appreciate others than it is to love and appreciate ourselves. Not in the “proud vs. humility” way, but in the “Wow, I am a child of God and I love the way I laugh even if everyone always mocks it.” and the “Dang, I actually do love these freckles and the way my left eye is differently shaped than my right eye.” We have to learn to look at ourselves through God’s eyes.

It’s way harder said than done, and like I said, it has taken me years to be okay with the fact that my body is different than everyone else’s. (and God is still having to help me be okay with this. I have not mastered it.)

However, we must realize that we are so special in God’s eyes and we do not need to hold a single thing back when it comes to who we are. He made us each different. He made us each have different characteristics, mannerisms, thoughts, and opinions.

How boring would it be if we all laughed the same?

What if we all only had four freckles in the same place?

Can you imagine if we all wore our hair the same way?

God did this on purpose. God made you the way you are on purpose. Don’t be upset and convince yourself that it was a mistake.

Stop sucking in who you are and trying to hide it. Embrace it, and let others embrace and appreciate every little detail about you. God loves every inch of you and every crazy outfit you wear. There is no need to disguise yourself and blend in.

Love yourself the way God loves you and remember you were created in His image and you were created on purpose.