An open letter to anyone who hates their body,

I’ve struggled with my weight and appearance my whole life. Every time I look in the mirror I can’t help to shake my head and feel sadness and anger overwhelm me because of how I look. It wasn’t until recently did I start becoming more comfortable. It’s been a long journey to get where I’m at, and I’m still not where I’m want to be. But that doesn’t mean I can’t love myself for who I am. Here are a few reminders to everyone who battles with loving who they are and what they look like every day.

Size is just a number. Who cares if you can’t fit a size two, or you’re just naturally really small and struggle to fill out clothes completely? That doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful. The size of your pants or shirts doesn’t define you. I always hated shopping for clothes because I would try to fit into smaller sizes because I didn’t want to admit to myself or anyone that I was a size 12 or 14. I wanted to fit into an 8 or a 10, but they were always tight and uncomfortable. This only made me feel like I looked worse because my clothes didn’t fit the way I them wanted to. Now that I’ve realized that the number doesn’t matter, I buy whatever size feels best which makes me feel more comfortable in my clothes and my own skin.

Another thing, don’t be afraid to make your own style. Just because your taste in fashion makes you feel like you don’t fit in or look like everyone else, doesn’t mean that’s not okay. Not every piece of clothing is made for every body type. Wear what you want and how you want it. Confidence is key. As long as you aren’t afraid to stand out a little and be different, then people will immediately recognize your confidence and be impressed by how you carry yourself. The biggest part of loving yourself is being comfortable and confident. I get told that people love my confidence when I don’t even realize I have it most of the time, but it all goes back to how comfortable I am with how I dress and what I wear and how I carry myself.

Surround yourself with people who remind you how beautiful you are. Your friends and family and significant other should always support you and help remind you just how beautiful you are. No one who cares about you should ever be mean or deliberately make you feel worse about yourself. They should always help pick you up on your low days and build up your confidence. This doesn’t mean they can’t help you with constructive criticism to help you better yourself, but they should still love and support you through it all.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to make changes to yourself and your body. We all have room to improve ourselves and enhance our natural beauty. While you can go to the gym and eat healthier to help get where you want to be, it’s important to continue loving yourself through it all. Live each day loving yourself and the changes you’re making to love yourself even more. It can be a long and tough journey but with the right mindset, I promise you can get where you want to be.

Always remember that everyone is like a snowflake: different, but all equally as beautiful. It doesn’t matter your shape, size, body type, face shape, hair color, skin color because it doesn’t define who you are. You define who you are.