It being summer, I've had a lot of time for self-reflection. Whether it be when I'm driving, jamming to my music in the car, or when I'm lying awake at night trying to go to sleep—I've been pondering life. One major theme in my life the past year has been change. When you go off to college, you essentially are uprooting your entire life, everything that you know and everything that is comfortable, and starting over. Sure you have pieces of your old life left behind, and the memories that you carry with you, but when you go to college, your whole world is flipped upside down. Everything changes. You change, you grow. And because of these changes, it is sometimes hard to get used to the new you, your new identity, and it becomes hard to accept and love yourself

But change is not what I decided to write about in this article. Maybe what I'm writing about is inspired by change, but that is not the topic of discussion here. I want to talk about YOU, person reading this article. And tell you to embrace the amazing you that you are, for all of your weaknesses and all of your strengths, and I am telling you to LOVE yourself.

Sure this might sound like a cliché, cheesy article, and that's fine if that's how you want to perceive it. But I'm hoping that what I am saying will resonate with you and maybe make a difference in the way that you perceive yourself. The thing is, so many people these days have this issue. Whether it be an insecurity about their physical appearance or their personality, people do not love themselves nearly as much as they should. This has been a very common theme among my girlfriends and me lately, so I wanted to share some encouragement and first off say, you are not alone. So many people are so judgmental of themselves. They put on these masks and act so confident around others, but when it comes time for them to look in the mirror at the end of the day, they are not happy. I am one of those people. I have an amazing family, wonderful friends, and am genuinely blessed in my life. But I definitely put up a front for people. I appear like I am confident on the outside, but in fact, I have a few big insecurities. I am afraid of not being accepted or wanted by others. I also have always found myself comparing my physical appearance to others. My body image has always been something that I have not been content with. I have never felt thin enough, and have always just assumed boys have not had an interest in me because of my weight. This has been something I have struggled with for years; never feeling good enough. What I've learned though is, I cannot rely on all of these outside factors to make me happy. Happiness starts with me, And happiness starts with you. You have to love yourself before all else, because if not you will never truly be happy.

Everyone has flaws. Even the people that seem like they have everything together have issues, or things they don't like about themselves. Nobody is perfect. The media sometimes infects people with the idea that people have the perfect body, or the perfect life, and I am telling you, this is not true. They try to sell you on ideas that you have to look a certain way, or act a certain way to be accepted or wanted. Trying to be something you are not is no way to live. After all, you only have one life live. So I am saying, do not be ashamed, do not hide who you are to fit the norm. Live your life freely as the beautiful you you are. Go journal, make a playlist of your favorite songs and just jam out. Take a bath, go workout, play an instrument, paint, draw, play a sport. Find something you love or that you are passionate about and just run with it. Do something that makes you happy because, YES, it is OK to be selfish every once in a while. But also remember, you are not alone. There is a whole world out there full of wonderful, exquisite people who can relate to you, who can help pick you up when you have fallen down. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and make you want to do better, for them and for yourself. Be motivated just by the fact that treating yourself every once in a while feels good, and know that you deserve the best. You are beautiful, unique, and talented in your own, special, individualized way that no one could ever replicate or mimic, because THEY are not YOU. Go out and live your life, and be the person that you are meant to be. Love that person, and cherish that person, because there is no one in this world who could ever compare to you.