Walking down a hall at Meridian mall, giant stores pack ideas of perfection into teens heads. Big clothing merchandise stores like Forever 21 and Hollister tell the youth that they have to look a certain way to be beautiful. If teens view themselves as unattractive or ugly, it is considered a social norm. The big brand stores have learned to work that way.

The youth has learned that can’t really love themselves until someone else has. The reasons why people are not similar is because they are all beautiful.

Body image is closely linked to self-esteem.

“Low self-esteem in adolescents can lead to eating disorders, early sexual activity, substance use and suicidal thoughts,” according to Do Something, one of the largest orgs for young people and social change.

Reason one, I am not required to uphold society’s standards. Being a teenager does not make anyone accountable to be perfect in anyone else’s eyes but their own. Don’t feel obligated to put yourself in situations or feel as if you are to blame for not being up to acceptable standards of public ideas displayed in media or anything else, having to do with body image.

Thirty-seven percent of articles in leading teen girl magazines also included a focus on appearance according to Teen Health and The Media’s websites.

Loving yourself is a healthy practice. “Healthy” is not only described as physically fit; it means a person’s mentally stable and active as well. Thinking about how flaws and personality ideas affect life should not be negative. It isn’t something to beat yourself up for.

Everyone is worth something.

A person was put into this world for a purpose, and that purpose might even be to show someone else how to love his or herself someday. Self-worth should not list what values someone has to anyone else. Self-worth is acknowledging that a person woke up and saw a beautiful sunrise and that the day is good.

Even then, loving one’s self will put a person out there for loving others and others loving back. Loving yourself is self centered, and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.