A couple of weeks ago, I was procrastinating on homework by scrolling through Instagram. I got sidetracked on Aerie's profile and spent a while looking through their photos of un-photoshopped girls who all looked genuinely real, with curves and imperfections and everything. (If you don't know what Aerie is, it's an underwear branch of American Eagle which is in the midst of a campaign called #AerieReal, where they don't edit any of the models.) I remember later, as I was changing into my pajamas to go to sleep, I glanced in the mirror and for the first time in a very long, long time, I actually didn't frown at what I saw. I didn't dwell on how much my body didn't look like Candice Swanepoel's, nor did I grimace at my flaws. I thought back to all of the Aerie models and how beautiful I thought they were, and they all were real. Of course they all probably have those times when they don't wholeheartedly love their reflection, but they are beautifully and wonderfully made (without the magic of a computer), and Aerie's 415k followers think so too. And the best part? So are you.

My friend Lyrik once said, "In a society that profits from self doubt, loving yourself is a rebellious act." Let that sink in. Those words have stuck with me since, and made me rethink how I view myself. Our generation naturally negates any compliments we receive. Self deprecation has become a bad habit. If we do happen to like the way we look (and show it by posting pictures or something), we're met with rude remarks about being "cocky" and "self-absorbed". While there's a certain extreme of pride that can be unhealthy, what's so wrong with loving ourselves? Why is it so hard to do? The number one New Year's Resolution in America is to lose weight or "get a bikini body". Who says the body you have right now doesn't look fantastic in a two-piece? Of course we all should strive to be active and maintain a healthy lifestyle, but this idea of having to look a very specific way in order to be considered attractive is unrealistic. My senior year of high school, one of my classes had a discussion about body image. Long story short, it got pretty emotional (as you would expect) because nearly the whole class was affected by how others perceive their bodies. One girl said boys never liked her because she was "too fat". One guy couldn't get a date because he couldn't put on muscle despite lifting weights several times a week. One girl was sick of getting comments about how she needed to "gain weight" because no matter how much she ate, she stayed as thin as always. The discussion lasted the entire class period, and even after the bell rang, many students stayed behind to encourage those who spoke and let them know they were not alone, and they were perfect just the way they were. There were lots of tears, and not one person emerged from the classroom unmoved.

To this day, it hurts me to overhear gossip about how "big" so-and-so is, or how "that outfit was just not working for her", or how "she needs to eat a sandwich". It is no one's place to judge the way you look. and it is perfectly okay to love what you see in the mirror, and you should. If you ever find yourself comparing your body to a Victoria's Secret Angel, just remember you could possibly be hired as an Aerie model, and if you ask me, that's a much better thing to be.

Psalm 139:14

SEE ALSO: To The Girl Trying To Lose Weight In College