How you see yourself matters. I’m not just talking about what you see when you look in the mirror. Yes, a healthy body image is important. Yes, being “body-positive” is awesome. Yes, we should take care of our bodies. But there’s just one small problem. You are not your body. You are not the way your stomach rolls or doesn't roll when you sit down. You are not the way you look in a swimsuit. You are not the wrinkles on your forehead or the mole on your back that you hate. You are not big muscles and a pretty face. You are all that is encased within. You are your thoughts and dreams and emotions. You are how you treat other people. You are the way your eyes light up in the company of those you love. You are the memories of your childhood. You are all of the little things that make you double over in laughter. You are all that you hope to be. You are not the things that have happened to you, you are the way you handle it.

The world has plenty of people who look pretty. There are plenty of people who can grace the covers of magazines. What if we decided that’s not all that matters? What if we decided that a beautiful mind is worth more than a beautiful body? I’m tired of seeing the light in people’s eyes fade when they realize that who they are is not enough because they don’t look a certain way. I’m tired of doing that to myself. I’m tired of living in an image obsessed world with people whose only goal in life is a big booty and a flat stomach. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO LIFE.

Forget looking like Blake Lively. Yeah, she’s beautiful. But she is more than her beauty, and so are you. Forget the washboard abs. Forget the perfectly even tan and blindingly white teeth. Those are all great things, but none of that matters if you aren’t comfortable with who you are ON THE INSIDE. Take away all that is on the outside. Do you like what you see? What if all that you were was your thoughts and your emotions and dreams and plans? What if you were only how you loved people?

I’m talking to myself, too. I’m guilty of placing my value in my appearance. I’m guilty of worrying more about how I look than what’s on my mind. I’m even guilty of placing these unrealistic expectations on other people. The minute we stop doing this to ourselves, we can begin to stop doing it to other people. It’s a beautiful thing to love and be loved unconditionally.

You are worth more than you could ever imagine. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the way that you look. I hope with all that I am that you and I can grasp this truth. Our culture desperately needs the beautiful minds that have been suppressed because of how they view their bodies. I hate that so many of us have been made to believe that we aren’t enough. That’s why I’m telling you today that you are breathtakingly beautiful in every way. Not because you are thin or thick or blonde or brunette or tall or short. You are beautiful because you are you. There is no one like you, no one with the thoughts and ideas that fill your head. You are so valuable. YOU. ARE. ENOUGH.

Look inward. To yourself and others. I promise, no matter how cliché and overused this sentence is, it’s absolutely true. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.