Take a moment. Stop and think about yourself in the best way possible. Then take note of this one important thing: you are beautiful. Despite the various opinions others may have on you, even opinions you formulate about yourself, you are beautiful. Knowing that is the first step. You may stare in the mirror and believe you are not enough, but you truly are. It may be difficult to understand, but your feelings of self-consciousness are only temporary. I hope one day in the near future they dissipate and you can begin to focus on the most important thing in the world: yourself.

Loving yourself comes first despite what others believe.The magazines, the beauty commercials do not portray an accurate description of beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and guess what, you have the power. You are the beholder of your own self, so believe your beautiful. Beauty is not classified by the numbers on the scale, although it is what society prevails you to believe. Beauty is being your most confident, healthiest self. Your health is more important.

If you feel like you have to lose weight for others to seek approval, take a moment to reflect. You do not and I will repeat do not have to seek approval from others. YOU are the owner of your body and you should feel comfortable being who you are. Confidence is a hard thing to grasp, trust me, I still struggle to have it, but the most important thing is you are not alone. We are in this together, no matter what others may say. If you feel this way, know that I appreciate you. You are not the only person in the world who feels like weight is something that defines who they are.

Many people still feel this way, and if you do, you must learn to love yourself for you and not others. The approval of others is ultimately useless. You should never feel guilty about how much you weigh. However, if you feel the need to do it, do it for you. Do not do it out of spite for others, because the goal will be useless. You have to do it for you and you only.

Presenting a false sense of beauty based on the societal pressures is not worth it. You should feel confident in your skin despite how it looks to the outside world. All that matters is you being able to be yourself. Be free to wear your crop tops and your shorts in the summertime and be happy. Be happy with yourself. Love yourself and the person you have become. God made you to be an individual, not like other people. So love yourself and the body you are in. Gain your confidence and be who you are inside and out.