In case someone has not told you today, you are beautiful.

At the beginning of February, I made a decision to only wear makeup on extremely special occasions. Before you roll your eyes at me and mumble a "good for you", hear me out. I spent two months looking at my bare face in the mirror as I side eyed the "you are beautiful" I had written in expo marker at the beginning of this journey. I am not perfect but my imperfections are part of me and I am beautiful. My voyage to self-love is not over and it won't be for awhile, but, I want to share what I have learned thus far.

I am beautiful and so are you.

You are beautiful in your most raw state: without makeup, under eye bags, hair untouched, prickly legs, beard untrimmed, sweaty, teary-eyed, 100% natural, you are beautiful. You owe it to yourself to accept your physical imperfections. There is no perfect person so your imperfections are not really imperfections at all, just differences. Differences are not bad; they make us who we are and that is alluring. Stop comparing yourself to others. I have pimples, crazy curly hair, and cellulite; I am beautiful.

You need to love yourself before you can love someone else.

If you meet someone that helps you love yourself, great. Do not wait around for that someone to come along. You were brought into this world as an individual and you as an individual need to adore yourself for who you are. Find a mirror, get naked, tell yourself you are beautiful. Do this every day until you believe it because it is the truth. If you don't love yourself you will have trouble committing to someone else because you are worried they won't accept your flaws. If you embrace your flaws, so will the world. If someone doesn't see your beauty when you are wholly yourself, they do not deserve you.

You only have one body, take care of it.

Loving yourself means taking care of your body as well. Eat well, get enough sleep, go for a walk, do whatever it is you need to keep yourself mentally and physically stable. Be cautious of what you are putting into your body; if you wouldn't give it to your future child maybe you should reconsider it as well. Before you tell yourself you don't have time to sleep because you are too busy, stop. I am a full-time college student, I have a job, I am a volunteer, and I am heavily involved; I still sleep. Your body and mind need sleep to function just like your car needs gas to run. A couple late nights are okay but your habits affect you. Body positivity is a wonderful thing but keep in mind that your body is your sanctuary and that you should treat it as such.

There will be good days and bad days.

Some days you will feel like a goddess that deserves a statue and other days you will feel like the lowest scum of the earth, that is okay. Let yourself have low days but don't let them last. Get back in front of a mirror, do a little dance, and tell yourself you are beautiful. Like any journey, this one has twists and turns; at the end, the goal is to overcome the difficult parts and celebrate the best parts. Celebrate yourself because you are exquisite and you deserve it.

I am still learning to love myself physically and to take care of myself mentally. I am un-apalogetically myself. I am learning to love the skin I am in and it is the best lesson I have ever pursued. I am beautiful and so are you.