Being an individual in today's society is something that is incredibly trying on how much you actually love your own body. From day to day, we find ourselves scouring social media and within that social media is advertisements of gorgeous bodies. We see soccer athletes modeling the latest underwear and actresses/models modeling the latest jeans and shirts. All of that is great, but the hardest part for me is when I look in the mirror and don't see what I see in them.

To be skinny, to be fat doesn't mean anything because all that matters is how you feel in your own skin. On some of my "skinnier days" on the scale, I felt crummier than ever. It is difficult to make that first step and begin to look in the mirror and say that you love yourself; however, it is crucial. Without that step, you will always be wanting something you'll never strive because even when a goal is reached, you still won't be happy; or at least I wasn't.

I am someone that has struggled with body image for a while because I am constantly surrounded by teammates and friends who I felt looked a lot better than I did. This caused me to become obsessed with how I looked; something I'm not proud of. Instead of smiling in the mirror because my hair looked good, I was frowning because my stomach looked like it was bulging out. I constantly looked in the mirror to evaluate how I looked and to see if the extra chip I ate actually even mattered. Looking back, that seems very silly but the sad reality is that I will probably catch myself doing it tomorrow.

I think that every man, woman, child and teen can begin to love themselves without torturing and obsessing about the image in the mirror or even the number on the scale, but it is a long process and it starts with not thinking too much about how others perceive you, but how you perceive yourself. What tends to send me on the path to being too insecure is thinking about how much better someone would look in what I'm wearing, or even how others are looking at me and judging me.

Not loving your body is hard, but I think the main thing to understand is that many people are in the same boat as you. And although you may want someone else's body, another person around the world may want yours. The people who truly matter in the world don't care what your external appearance is like, they love you for being you. So, if you want to work out and eat healthy FOR YOU and love your body then do it! If you want to eat a hamburger and watch TV, then do it! Just make sure that you are keeping yourself healthy and that you are loving yourself for who you are; because in the end, the hardest approval to gain is your own.