Body image is something that everyone has struggled with at some point in their life. We are constantly being bombarded by these Photoshopped models in magazines, which we use as examples of what we should look like. Social media, clothing stores and health are the main causes of body image in our current society.

I know a girl named Millie. She was told by everyone she was gorgeous. When you looked at her, you would never think that she’s hurting so much inside. She would walk through the halls with a smile on her face and always had a positive attitude toward everyone. But once she was alone, she criticized every inch of her body. She would look in the mirror and only see her flaws. She hated everything about her body.

You could consider her to be your typical 19-year-old college sophomore. She was always on her phone or laptop. You would think she was texting her best friend about that cute guy in her class, or maybe she was watching her friend's Snapchat story who goes to school a couple of states away.

Well, you would be wrong. Behind that tinted screen was everything she wanted to be. Her Tumblr was filled with pictures of what she wished she looked like. “Inspiration pictures” or “goals,” she would call them. Although most of the girls on social media are Photoshopped, yet she was still itching to be just like them. Instagram is very similar, but the girls on Instagram seem more real. Social media says you need to be of a certain size to be considered attractive or beautiful. Millie gave in to social media's idea of perfection. It ripped her apart until there was nothing left of her. Literally. I still see Millie every now and then when I look in the mirror.

There’s a clothing store called Brandy Melville. Maybe some of you have heard of it but if you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. Brandy Melville is known for their L.A.-style clothing and their one size fits “most.” Which means that if you fit into their clothing, congratulations! You are considered the majority of girls. You are a part of their elite club. Keep in mind these clothes were extremely small. The sizes looked as if they were sizes extra small and small. Brandy Melville is telling girls that in order to be beautiful, they must be a certain size. And that size is dictated by society. So many men and women are plagued by eating disorders — whether its bulimia, anorexia or binge eating — because they are so desperate to fit in. I'll admit that I am guilty of just this. The "perfect body" that society says we should have isn't healthy nor is it real. It takes hours of editing to create the ideal perfect body.

So why are we all trying so hard to fit this mold of perfection that society lays out for us? Be happy with you who are. Don’t give in to society’s false idea of perfection.

"Everyday I force myself to find one new part of myself to fall in love with. Some days it's easy, I can look in the mirror and make a list of things I'm happy with. Other days, it's hard to even get myself to look in the mirror. I will not be confident every single day of my life. I know and accept that. But I what I will be every day of my life is determined. Determined to silence out what society and the media portray as the only version of beautiful and learn to love the body I was born in. I know who I am as a person, and I will never let a photo-shopped photo on the front of a magazine make me feel any less." - Andrea Russett