Everyone has something that they just don't like about themselves. Something physical, or something about their personality. It's incredible how easy it is to think of yourself and within seconds come up with often times more than a thing or two that we wish we could change. We look at others as we pass them on the street, or as we scroll through our newsfeed on social media and think about how we wish we had that hair color, those freckles, such skinny legs. Or we wish we were brave enough to try out that haircut, their style, aching for the ability to change ourselves immediately into what we wish we looked like, or for the courage to be spontaneous and go for the boldness that we don't feel that we achieve.

It absolutely isn't wrong to feel this way. Nothing is more normal than wanting to be or to have something you don't. Honestly, it feels like it's almost part of human nature. But consider just for a second, what it would be like if we didn't compare ourselves to others. If we stopped for just one day and let ourselves smile as much as we ache on those other days, is this even possible? To look in the mirror and love how you look and feel as much as you wish you were something else another day? I think it is.

This isn't to say that most people don't have a genuine sense of confidence. Right now, large companies and media outlets seem to be more concerned with the way that the concept of "beauty" is portrayed than they have been in a long, long time. A lot of this is due to the loud voices of women who have decided to take a stand and demand that the people who appear to control the modern perception of beauty recognize the harmful effect of their suggestions that beauty is synonymous with being thin and having a certain look, and that they re-evaluate their decisions. We see companies like Dove and Aerie proudly campaigning the beauty of women of all shapes, sizes, and races, in the hopes of changing the popularized belief of what "standard beauty" is. Companies like these are something of a breath of fresh air, reminding us that you don't need to fit into a certain mold in order to be beautiful.

Part of loving yourself is accepting your flaws and the fact that we don't necessarily get to appear exactly as we wish we could. And if we all just took the time to listen to the people around us who encourage and love us, and who see our beauty inside and out, things would be a lot different. If we all stopped comparing ourselves to the people we see on social media or in ad campaigns, we would start to see a little bit more of how special we all are. So try it. For a day, just don't let yourself think that you should be skinnier, shorter, taller, have lighter eyes, darker hair, tanner skin. Wipe the makeup off of your face, throw on a pair of sweatpants, and leave the hair product in the bathroom cabinet, and admire the fact that you are perfect exactly how you are.