Too often we hide our true selves because we are scared of the scrutiny we will get for being authentic. For me, this especially occurs when it comes to meeting someone I may be interested in in a romantic way. I am 19 and have never dated anyone before, and I often times will let this get the best of me. "Maybe I come off crazy, or maybe I'm not pretty enough, or maybe I'm not sexy or flirty enough", are thoughts that would come into my mind and I started to believe them. I started to believe that I'm not attractive, that guys won't ever find me attractive.

I would sometimes let the societal standards of attractive woman make me feel undesirable.

Not anymore.

I am intelligent, funny, strong, independent, and compassionate and I will not back down from who I am anymore. It's a work in progress, but I will no longer let the fact that just because I don't act or look the same as the women you would see on tv or magazines bring me to believe I am anything less than desirable and worthy of love. Obviously the women who are on magazine covers and appear to be like what we see on tv are beautiful, but the fact of the matter is, so am I, and so are you.

I owe it to myself to embrace my truth and to be the vibrant person I am, regardless of who's around me. I don't want to think that just because I haven't dated someone yet, I should reevaluate myself when I'm already an incredible person and I'm only going to work harder on being better and stronger than ever. Someone who appreciates me will come along, but for now, that's not what my life is about, it's about me, my studies, my future, my family, and my friends.

Never let anyone make you feel like you aren't beautiful, be LOUD, be who you're meant to be, even if it isn't the typical definition of beauty. Focus on you, build yourself, and every thing will all come together as it should.