Insecurities live within all of us.

At times, they seem to be eating us alive.

Let me guess. When you look in the mirror, the first things you see are the "ugly parts," or the thing you absolutely hate about yourself. For me, the first thing I see is my body — how it has changed from being a D1 college athlete with a shredded stomach to a woman who is working tirelessly to get her college body back. For some it may be the leftover baby weight after giving birth, the deep wrinkles you received from working outside, the not so existing thigh gap that seems to be trending, your idiotic boyfriend that calls you ugly, or the scars from the past. We can all look into a mirror with a closed door and point them out...you're thinking about them right now.

For the longest time, I refused to point out what I liked about my body. In fact, I never told myself how much I love having small shoulders or that I have gleaming, brown eyes. None of us choose to point out the good things we see.

But remember this.

That leftover weight from your pregnancy is something you should be proud of. You literally CREATED a living, human-being inside of you. How powerful is that? No man has this superpower.

Those deep wrinkles around your eyes, the ones that take over your forehead when you squint. It earned you the money to feed your family. It kept those tiny mouths fed and your spouse living with a roof over their heads. Own them, because they show your incredible work ethic.

Your thighs don't have the gap that is trending? So, what? You played a Division 1 sport (squatting 250+ pounds) and earned a FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIP and now you have a college degree with ZERO debt.

That boyfriend you had that convinced you that you were ugly? He was such a coward that telling you lies was the only thing keeping him above water. He was drowning in his own baggage and had to bring you down with him. Don't listen to him...he is still drowning while you are rising.

Those scars you see on your body? You stood up for someone who didn't have that ability on their own AND now they do. You showed them that they were worthy by fighting for them.

Be the kind of person that looks in the mirror with compassion, love, kindness, and forgiveness, Be determined to be the kind of person who uses their voice and strength to uplift others AND yourself. Be the person that leads by example by first loving yourself.

No matter what the insecurity is, find a way to see the beauty in it. If you need help finding beauty, ask me for help! I don't mind at all. It took me years to look in the mirror to actually like what I saw. Years wasted on self-hate and doubt that was created from my own mind. I neglected myself, I tore myself down and somehow expected to feel better. Love yourself before allowing anyone else to because you are worthy. Take care of yourself and love yourself.

Girl, look in the mirror and see all of the beauty that God placed in YOU!