How many people can say they deep down, love themselves? The answer should be all of us. We should all be raising our hands and embracing the body we have, the body we work for and the body that, after all our poking and prodding, is ours and ours alone.
But it isn't always easy in a generation overcome with body image issues and the constant message that we should always be better. "With this chemical foundation our skin will finally be clear!" As if blemishes and scars aren't normal. "With these diet pills our tummy fat will be gone!" As if human fat isn't normal. As if everything about us as humans isn't normal.
I would be hypocritical if I said I love everything about myself. For years I have focused on how my skin looks or how my thighs are "big" from years of being an athlete. Finally, after countless years, I realized this is me. I will always have these imperfections, regardless of what I do and that makes me, me.
And that is okay.
It is okay to look like you. It is okay to have a body type that's not seen in advertisements or hair that's not lush, thick and glossy. Its okay to wear makeup to feel beautiful or to wipe it all off and throw it away forever. Be and do what makes you love yourself. Here are seven reasons why you should love and accept all the imperfections that make us real.
1. There is only one you.
There are an estimated 7.25 billion people that inhabit this earth. Only one of those individuals is you. You are one in a billion, or rather one in 7 billion, and that alone is something to love. Embrace your differences. Love the quirks that make you who you are, love the elements that set you apart. If someone doesn't like it, screw 'em. They are only one very, very small fish, in a very, very large sea.
2. Imperfections make us human.
We are all fighting a battle. We have lives bursting with emotions: fear, anger, love, happiness, desperation and joy. We are all fighting to make it in this world. Whether it be to graduate from an educational institution, to find a job, to fix a broken family or to make a difference. That scar you have under your left eye? That's proof. Those pimples that plagued your skin from the stress of college finals? Those are proof, too. And those shorts that crept up a size? Proof that life happens, sometimes priorities change, we need to reevaluate and adapt ourselves.
3. All those filters can't really change us.
Are they great, and do I use them? Yes and of course. It's much too tempting not to step up your picture game with a great filter that makes your skin golden brown, alluding to the idea you spend your free time drinking margaritas and frolicking in the sand. Although they make a nice picture, they do not change you. We should never go into life thinking, "This would make a great Insta!!" Love yourself enough to live for you, not your followers. After all, the only ones who can change ourselves are ourselves, not those filters and absolutely not our followers.
4. Confidence is key.
Love yourself because of the work you put into life. Love yourself because, if you don't, than who will? You need to know what you deserve is the best of the best. You deserve that full-time job, you deserve that beautiful lover, you deserve the world. Go into life with confidence, and the world will support it. Walk into that job and tell them why they should love you, too. Demand all that you can, because you are brilliant.
5. It's time to stand up to the industry.
Hi there, all you fashion consultants and cosmetic engineers, I know my thunder thighs and blemished skin may offend you, but I am here to inform you that I do not care. Although let me be a real, your makeup does help me out more than I'd like to admit, but instead of marketing your products to cover my humanness, market them to embrace it. Show that our species has vast variety. Show that our bodies are unique and genetically engineered by the people that gave us the most miraculous gift of all: life.
6. You have the power.
You have the power to do what makes you feel beautiful. If that is exercising every day and eating a vegan, organic diet, do it. If that is placing all your effort into achieving a life goal, do it. If that is applying the perfect amount of makeup or never applying a foundation to your face, do it. Love your body, and treat it well. It will in turn support you (literally). Just always remember: our imperfections make us unique, embrace yourself.
7. Because you were made just the way you were intended to be.
No one sees how you see. I learned once that we do not see from our eyes, they just direct light, we "see" or interpret images from our brain. This means that we all see differently; our memories, experiences and perceptions, all play a role in what and how we see. These factors are never the same for everyone. You were created by this world to have a vision, to see the world like no one else before. Love your vision, use it to bring yourself into this world.
Love yourself because it is freeing, love yourself because self-admiration is a gift, and love yourself because you are human.
