For many, including myself, the concept of self-love may be a distant one. Living in a world where people are constantly judged on how they look and act, it's easy to get caught up in the chaos of it all. We are constantly worried about maintaining an image on social media, looking a certain way, and acting in a way to please others. It is completely exhausting, and leads to the concept of self-love to fall through the cracks. How can we love ourselves when we are constantly making decisions based on the opinions of others? For those people out there just trying to love themselves: this one's for you.
I would love to say that I am an expert on this topic, but unfortunately I am not. Being a girl on a college campus, constantly comparing myself to others, I have become extremely critical of myself. I have always wanted to change different parts of myself in hopes of being completely happy with who I am.
Through these challenges, I have learned a few things about what loving yourself really means. Usually, when you think about the concept of self-love, you think of loving the physical attributes about yourself. But, the concept of self-love truly relies heavily on loving the whole person you are. You are much more than how you look in the eyes of other people, but the way you look at yourself weighs much more. People could have all different opinions about what you do and how you act, but at the end of the day ask yourself: Does it all really matter?
Are those people going to be be constantly around you for the rest of your life? No they aren't, maybe some, but not all. But, there will always be one person with you, and that person is you. You cannot escape how you perceive yourself, but you can most definitely change your perception. Part of this process is accepting the mistakes you have made in the past. Many, including myself, will completely shut down because of mistakes made in the past. Because of these mistakes, we try to "fix" ourselves but it is simply impossible to go through life without making mistakes. To unconditionally love who you are, you need to use those mistakes you have made to motivate and better yourself instead of holding yourself back from the happiness you deserve. Happiness and self-love go hand in hand.
Once you recognize that being completely yourself all the time radiates such a positive light, you will not want to be anyone else, but yourself.
Learning to love every part of me that makes me, me has been a difficult experience and I am still working on it. Everyday it gets a little better and I find that most of it comes from the people I choose to surround myself with. My amazing family and my loyal friends bring out my favorite qualities about myself.
They make me love the little things that I wouldn't be myself without. Take a minute to reflect on how the people around you make you feel about yourself. Surround yourself with the people that make you feel like you can do anything, be anything and push you to be the best possible version of yourself. That is the true meaning of self-love, being the best possible version of yourself in YOUR own eyes. I know it's easier said than done, trust me, but know you are not alone. Once you stop criticizing everything you do and everything about yourself, you will start to notice small changes. Just know, there is so much to love about you and I can't wait until you realize that. All love, Isabella.
