To the girls who stare in the mirror each day, sigh, and walk away. To the ones who grab at the extra roll around their waist and wish they could claw their way out of their own bodies. To the ones who watch tutorial after tutorial, hoping that with the right look they’ll be good enough. To the ones who stuff another failed test into their backpacks and wish they could be smarter. To the ones who hate their laugh. To the ones who no matter how hard they work out, how hard they study, how hard they try, they can never recognize their worth. To the ones who wake up each day feeling unlovable. This one’s for you.

Maybe it was a bad relationship. Maybe some guy just took too much from you. He took that last bit of self-respect you had and you feel disgusting. Maybe you look in the mirror and hate everything except your body because you think, "Well, at least, most guys think I’m hot.”

Maybe it was your parents. Maybe everything you did was just never enough. You never measured up, not to their standards. You never did as well as your older brother or sister, so you must not be smart enough or talented enough. Maybe you stare in the mirror and see a worthless body and brain because you never had the approval of the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally.

Maybe it’s society. Somewhere between their expectations of perfection and high set standards, you recognize that you just don’t possess the qualities that everyone around you values. You realize you don’t live up to these impossible perfections that society calls normal, so you believe you have no value.

Maybe it’s social media. Maybe you spend hours each day scrolling through posts, comparing your life to others. You see the perfection of Instagram models but can only see the acne, wrinkles, and freckles staring back at you from your own selfie. You see posts of fantastic trips, jobs, experiences and awards and you realize that your feed reflects nothing of the sort. So you assume you must be worthless because your 30 likes will never compare to the 1000s that others receive.

Maybe it was an outspoken “Christian” who told you that because of your lifestyle, you were damned to hell. Maybe they told you that because of your sin, you were unlovable. You’ve seen the rallies and protests and they all seem to be protesting YOU. So you wonder if you really are as filthy, useless, and terrible as they say.

So whatever the reason, here you are reading this article. You probably clicked on the title because you thought: yep, that’s me. And you did so thinking that no matter what I had to say, you’d still struggle but at least you’d know you aren’t alone. And that’s true. But I hope what I say next can convince you that you are worth more than you believe you are.

You see, in a society that demands perfection, it’s impossible to ever feel good enough. We live our lives only posting the good. After all, no one posts a picture of their latest breakout or failed test. No one posts about their lousy vacation or sixth McDonald’s hamburger for the week. No one broadcasts their imperfections so everyone goes around believing they shouldn’t have any.

This is a flaw with society. Not a flaw with you.

Girls, imperfections are in everyone! But what our society considers imperfections, are NOT imperfections.

You see, society's view of imperfections includes acne, being anything bigger than a size 0 (heaven forbid you eat), failing at anything, wearing anything but name brand clothing, receiving less than 100 likes on any post, and not being gifted in every possible thing on the planet.

Real imperfections include being rude, judgmental, unkind, greedy, arrogant and selfish. Now this isn’t to say that if we struggle with these things we are terrible, worthless people, but here’s the point: Screw the society!

You are worth more than your social media success, weight, grades, and beauty. Your body, hair, face, and clothes are all outward accessories that have nothing whatsoever to do with you. Your life’s value is not measured in how many likes you get on an Instagram selfie.

So stop wasting hours of your life worrying about society’s standards and set personal standards for yourself. Standards like kindness, learning to embrace your unique talents, complimenting your beautiful qualities, and helping other people recognize their own value.

If you struggle with your self-worth, wake up each day and tell yourself five things you love about yourself. Surround yourself with people who see your inner value. Destroy social media’s hold on your life. Stop seeking approval and just give it to yourself.

Because here is the amazing and awesome truth: The God of the Universe already gave you his stamp of approval. He knew you before you were born and thought you were the most beautiful, incredible, and amazing daughter he could ever have. He thinks you are more precious than anything on this Earth. And if the God of the Universe, who made everything beautiful and glorious in this world, made you and said you were perfect, then that is exactly what you are.

So embrace your flaws, ignore society, and find something new each day to love about yourself. Stop letting the world ruin this beautiful life and live with joy and confidence. Don’t give society or yourself the power to strip you of your value. You are worth more than you’ll ever know, so girls, start loving yourself the way you want others to love you.