Everyone with a body has body insecurities, something we try to cover up with clothes, or avoid looking at in the mirror. That's human, if we all looked like Olivia Wilde or David Beckham, we'd still find ways to criticize ourselves, we would still see imperfections. But eventually, if you don’t start loving all of your body, those imperfections start to take over and you begin to not like anything you see in the mirror.

I, just like most other people, used to avoid looking in the mirror. All I saw were things to improve on, things that could be fixed by skipping breakfast or going to the gym for an extra hour. But these habits were an unhealthy way to like the way I looked in the mirror. I was damaging my body, losing weight in a bad way; I became more aware of every calorie I took in like a ticking time-bomb, and my only hope was that if I exploded I would lose 10 pounds in the process.

We all have our struggles, our issues, our ways of trying to fix our bodies; but what I learned is that loving your body comes from changing your mind not your shape. I was able to slowly love my body, and all it's parts from three small changes:

1. I began to take care of my body.

I drank water instead of soda, I made sure my portion sizes were reasonable, I exercised when I had time, and made sure I wasn’t over exerting myself. It’s important to note that I did this in mind that I may not lose weight while doing it, I was doing it to take better care of my body, not lose weight in hopes of meeting my own body expectations. I also allowed myself to eat what I wanted, denying yourself your favorite foods will only make you depressed. I wanted to lift my spirits not drain them.

2. I would look in the mirror every morning and only compliment myself.

I started with small things, like the color of my eyes. Slowly, I began to see more and more things I liked about my appearance; my insecurities were becoming my strengths. Telling yourself you’re beautiful every morning seems really silly at first, and when I first put up post it’s on my mirror to remind me I questioned my own motives; but even my roommate at the time appreciated them. With every day I felt more honest telling myself I was beautiful, and that I had far more strengths than weaknesses.

3. I bought clothes because I liked them.

I stopped caring about “fashion rules,” I stopped trying to only wear A-line dresses to hide my stomach, or try to even out my top to my bottom, I wear horizontal stripes now! When we give power to our clothes, we’re only limiting ourselves and telling ourselves that our bodies aren’t good enough for most clothes. Also, I had to stop trying to dress for other people, stop thinking “I hope everyone thinks this looks cute”, I should be the one that thinks it looks cute, I’m the one wearing it.

Now, these methods may not work for everyone, and of course we all still have our insecurities, some things that we may not see as beautiful up close. But working towards your own body-positivity is a daily process; it’s easy to look at everyone else as beautiful, but just as easy to critique yourself.

Your body is only a vessel for the beautiful soul that you have, it’s what carries you around and let’s you do the things you want to do with your life. It’s the reason you’re breathing right now, the reason you’re able to experience your favorite foods, able to read this article. But just because it's merely a vessel doesn't mean it isn't a gorgeous one that you need to care for and stop criticizing.

Some people say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder;” well, it’s time to behold yourself.