Love yourself and be yourself. Those two phrases are something you hear all of the time. Those two phrases are also so much easier said than done. Loving yourself seems like a simple concept, but you just can't seem to figure it out. No matter how many people have told you how beautiful you are, you still don't believe them. And when you try and tell yourself, you don't believe you either. I know what it is like to be you. I struggle every day with this.

For some reason, you can't seem to find the inner confidence that other girls around you have. Faking confidence is just as hard as actually having it. You feel like everyone surrounding you is beautiful and put together while you feel unattractive and like you're falling apart. I'm not here to tell you how beautiful you are (even though you are). I'm here because I know how you feel. I've learned that it actually is really easy to embrace who you are and love that person. They say that you can't love anyone else until you love yourself, but I don't think that's true.

You have qualities within you that nobody else in the world possesses. You have something that someone else wants. Social media has a way of making you feel like shit about yourself! While you are on Instagram stalking the perfect girl you work with and wondering how she is so beautiful, the girl you sat next to in school is stalking your Instagram wishing she could be you. Think about all the people in your life who love you. Whether it's your friends or family, think about how easy it is for them to love you. They didn't have to love you. They chose to love you. They chose to love you because of all of those unique and amazing qualities that you have.

I feel one of the reasons I have such a hard time loving myself and appreciating who I am is that when I look in the mirror, I see all of the negative things about myself. I see my fears, my anxiety, my crazy side, all of the bad choices I've made in the past, and all of the situations that could have gone a little better. I think about past relationships and how they ended. I see my friends getting into relationships and being happy and I'm over here trying to get someone to notice me.

When it comes to all of the not-so-perfect things in your life, you're the only one who fully knows about it all. That's why it's so easy for others to love you. When they look at you, they don't see any of those negative things. They see the girl who cares for them and would anything for them. They see the girl who acts like everything is okay when deep down you're not okay but a good actor. They see all of the good in you.

The thing you need to realize is that every single person on this Earth has negatives. Everyone has demons that they wish weren't there and that they hate about themselves. The day you realize that those negatives are not hanging on a list attached to your back is the day you can begin to walk on the path to loving yourself.

So, start realizing all of these things. Start understanding that loving the person you see in the mirror is really an easy task. I know it seems hard but once you do, I promise your life, and every aspect of it, will become so much greater than it already is.