"That Girl" - The one every guy wants to be with, and every girl wants to be. With a perfect body, eyelashes longer than Texas, and hair extensions that look suspiciously real, you can't help but envy her. She's the Kim Kardashian of trophy wives, the Beyoncé of pop stars, and the Brooke Davis of Tree Hill. You despise her, you applaud her, and you often blame yourself for not being more like her. But in the end, no matter how many times you try to mimic her cute outfits or blend your eye-shadow as well as she does, you will never be her... and let me tell you why that is more than OK.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
“Oh no, not a religious reference...” Yes I am aware that referencing the Bible in an effort to help you discover your self-worth is extremely cliché, but you know what, so is being insecure. So we’re even.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
All of us were created in the image of God, precisely, and with immeasurable care. In his eyes, each one of us is absolutely perfect. So you can imagine how astonishing it must be to see how often we are tearing ourselves down and comparing our worth to others.
She can't do what you can.
Whether you’re a painter, a musician, a blogger, a speaker, an athlete, or anything in between, I guarantee that she cannot do some of the things that you can. Sure, she may “WOW” everyone with her beauty and miscellaneous other talents, but can she listen to people the way you can? Or calculate the square root of 676 off the top of her head? Chances are there is something that you are better than her at and she’s jealous of you, too.
She has battles of her own.
As perfect as her life may seem in your eyes, it probably isn’t. There are so many things going on in other people’s lives that we have absolutely no idea about. For all you know she could be trapped in an abusive relationship, or working two jobs just so she can attend this university, or dealing with the messy divorce of her parents, or maybe even battling a mental illness beyond her own understanding. I promise nobody has a perfect life, not even “That Girl.”
Your flaws are beautiful.
You must think I'm crazy trying to convince you that the things you hate most about yourself are actually wonderful. But in my eyes, our flaws make the world go ‘round. That small gap between your two front teeth, the way you can never take a compliment, your seemingly endless split ends, and even the fact that you get super grumpy every time you’re hungry. All of these little “defects” make you exactly the person you are, and that alone is pretty spectacular.
You can't be the best version of yourself until you stop trying to be like her.
I get it, sometimes you wonder what life would be like if you had hers instead of your own. You can’t help but think to yourself: “Life would be so much easier if I looked like that!” or “The things I would do to walk in her shoes for a day.” - These are very common thoughts that every teenage girl is guilty of having more often than not. But it's time to put those thoughts to rest, because until you start focusing less on her life and more on your own, you’ll never be satisfied.
In today's society, we get so caught up in how much better our lives would be if we were living the glamorous life of "That Girl," that we forget about all the things that make living the life of "NOT That Girl" so fulfilling. Sure, we may not be idolized or admired in the same way, but we are raw, we are bold, and we are true. Besides, I'd choose to be the girl writing the magazine over the one on the cover of it any day.
