We’ve all looked in a mirror at some point or another and completely hated what we saw. We have all wanted to change our body weight, change our hair, eyes, skin and all the imperfections that we deemed unworthy.

But how many of us see our fellow classmates, our friends, our peers, our co-workers and think, “wow, they’re perfect” or “why can’t I look like that?” We see the people in our lives and assume that they don’t have insecurities. We assume that they look amazing and they are so lucky for it.

But if we assume that about others, why don’t we realize that others assume that about us?

As a society, our self-esteem is in the gutter. We fall into ploys like makeup and Spanx to make ourselves feel and look better. But at the end of the night when the masks come off, we’re left just the way we were meant to be – natural.

Do we criticize how trees, clouds, bugs, mountains and dirt roads look? Do we try to cover up the flaws we see in nature? Have you ever looked at a beautiful sunset and thought “eh, it’s not as pretty as the sunsets in the magazines.” No, you haven’t. Because hopefully, you appreciate nature for what it is – beautiful and natural. Now, if only we could do that for ourselves.

Every single person reading this is beautiful. If you are reading this, you have worth, you have value. You do not need companies and the justification of others to tell you that. Your weight should not be measured up against anyone else’s because your body is not the same as anyone else’s. You’re unique. All the imperfections you seek to cover up with makeup should be proudly flaunted because they are what make you different from everybody else.

You should learn to love what you see in the mirror because even if it doesn’t look like the men and women in the magazines, it looks like someone better – yourself.

We all know by now that no one actually looks the way models in catalogues do. If we can simply add on a filter to make us look prettier, what makes you think the big makeup companies don’t do much more than that to make their models look more attractive?

And if you do hear someone else tell you that you need to lose weight, or that your eyes aren’t as pretty, or that your sister is prettier than you, you need to turn around to that person and say, “Thanks for your opinion, but I’m happy the way I am,” because you have every right to be happy as who you are, doing what it is that you want.

Don’t let anybody tell you do not fit the 2015 ideal version of beautiful. Don’t let things like thigh gaps and perfect eyebrows stand in the way of your happiness.

Because you deserve happiness, no matter what you look like. Flaunt that happiness. Be you.