If you asked any female in today's society, I would say at least eight out of every ten would tell you that they are insecure about their bodies and the way they look. Women are constantly bombarded with pictures of other women who are prettier, skinnier, wealthier, have cuter clothes or better makeup than they do, etc, and it can be so hard to ignore these things upon seeing them and not talk negatively about yourself. It took me a long time to realize the truth about all of this, but now that I have, I feel I have a responsibility to share it.

I am going to be a senior in college this fall, and my college journey has been amazing, yet extremely difficult. My freshman year, I gained more than just the freshman 15. I was not treating my body the way it should be at all, and I saw the repercussions of that. Then, in my sophomore year, I lost over 50 pounds. This sounds like a good thing, but again, I was not treating my body the way it should be treated at all, and I experienced the repercussions of those actions as well. I was embarrassed by my body to the point where I would cry about it every night. Then I was so proud of my body and the way I looked that I (literally) ran myself into the ground trying to achieve what I thought was perfection.

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Flashback to my freshman year of college, I can recall so many times where I would be getting ready with my friends and I would look in the mirror once I was dressed and think, "I look super fat right now." My friends, who are very nice people, would always respond with, "OMG shut up, you look great!" While I appreciate that they were trying to uplift me, it never worked, because I was certain in my head that they were lying. And that is the truth about body positivity. It does not matter how many people tell you that you look beautiful, or whatever compliment they give you, if you do not believe it yourself, it goes in one ear and out the other.

Body positivity is about so much more than just saying "everyone is beautiful in their own way."

If you do not believe that YOU are beautiful, that statement doesn't make sense. Believe me, I know this is so much easier said than done. I had to learn the very hard way that life is a fragile gift that we were given, and we cannot waste it speaking so negatively about our own selves in our own minds.

I have always been very body-positive towards the people around me, and it was not until last year that I realized you cannot be body-positive towards other people without being body-positive toward yourself first.

If you do not love your body or anything about yourself for that matter, there are always effective and HEALTHY ways to change. But, if you do not ditch the negative self-talk before attempting to make a change, chances are you are not going to get anywhere. Take it from a girl who knows.