Recently I learned what it really means to love yourself. There is no clear cut Oxford Dictionary definition to what it truly means, it's like a snowflake, unique to every single one of us. I can confidently say that I have not fully achieved this yet, however I know how I'm going to get there.

I need to stop doubting myself, in all situations, whether it is how to reply to someone, how I need to act all the time in public, or just decisions that I need to make. I'm learning that while I may not always make the right decisions, I will learn and become a better person from each one. I need to trust my heart, do what I think is best for me and not constantly worry about being the person left behind. If I am the person left behind, there's no one and nothing stopping me from starting my own path.

For me, learning to love myself is learning to accept myself, being okay with the human being I am, not being ashamed or try to hide that, but just being genuine and confident. Confidence is something that is always easy for me to say I have and something just as easy for me to fake. However, true confidence doesn't have to be feeling beautiful all the time or being one hundred percent comfortable with my body; true confidence is doing whatever it takes for me to be truly happy. By surrounding myself with people who are there for me, encouraging myself to constantly grow, mature, and learn, and by being my own biggest motivator and harshest critic, I know that I can be the best person I possibly can, and that brings me confidence.

Confidence is standing up for myself, not just for what I believe in, but what I stand for, and the morals I choose to live my life by. Confidence to me is standing my own ground in my likes, dislikes, agrees, and disagrees. It is not automatically siding with someone just to please them or just to make someone else happy. Discussions, passion, beliefs are all what makes us human, what makes us distinct from one another. There is no right or wrong answer in life, just what makes us happy and what we believe in. The people in your life don't always have to agree with everything that you do, they just have to understand your views and wholeheartedly support you.

Confidence is having the ability to explain to someone trying to take advantage of you that we can both have our respective opinions, and that I will stand firm in my beliefs and not let anyone come in to my life and tell me how to live it.That to me is an act of strength, that to me is the person I want to be all the time, not the person who has to think one hundred times over before standing up for themselves. That to me is building my confidence, and learning to love myself.