Loving myself? Say what?

Self-love. Loving myself. What even is it? I’m supposed to love my body despite my flaws? How do I do that? Where do I start?

The idea of loving our own bodies seems like an easy task to grasp, but in reality, it is hard to with the image society has created of the perfect, unflawed girl. It all comes down to self-esteem. It comes down to seeing our own worth.

We don’t need someone else to validate our beauty. Validate your own beauty. Tell yourself that you are beautiful and make yourself believe it.

What girls need to understand is that there is no such thing as perfect. Just be yourself. You are the perfect version of yourself. No one else can do you as well as you do.

Instead of creating relationships with others to boost your own confidence, create a positive relationship with yourself and the way you look. The Dove Self Esteem Project is working to help teenage girls reach their full potential. According to a study done by Dove, 81% of 10-year-old girls in the U.S. are afraid of being fat. The idea of the perfect body is being fed into girls as young as 10 years old. If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will. 

Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself you are beautiful. If you don’t believe it yet, then fake it till you make it.  The law of attraction states that “like attracts like.” In other words, if you keep thinking one thing, then you are going to continue to attract that. This philosophy is based on the idea that like energy attracts like energy. So, think good things about yourself and you will come to believe those good things.

Yes, you have flaws. I have flaws. I am me because of the little baby hairs I have atop my head. I am me because of the way my thighs move every time I walk. I am me because of the little red bumps I have around my nose. I am me because of the ginormous feet that I have. I am me, and I am full of flaws, and I am my own kind of perfect. Yes, I have acne, and yes I have jiggly thighs, but I am beautiful despite my imperfections. There is not one person in this world who can say she fits the criteria of the perfect girl in that fashion magazine she reads.

Make your own criteria and meet that. Love yourself and your body. You are full of flaws and your flaws are what defines who you are. Don’t change your definition just to meet the standards of someone else’s idea of perfect. Be your own definition of beauty. Embrace imperfections. Embrace your flaws. Embrace the beautiful self that you are.