An Open Letter To The Self-Conscious Girl

Dear Self-Conscious Girl,

Everyone struggles with insecurities in their life but for some reason you seem to have every insecurity in the book. Perfection is key in your view and nothing less will be accepted.

You rarely see yourself as good enough which is frustrating to your friends and family. They see a gorgeous and strong woman and all you see is everything you wish you could fix about your body. Everyday you look in the mirror, all you see are flaws. You see strong and confident girls posting on social media and you wish confidence came to you with ease; unfortunately it doesn't come that easily.

You've spent your whole life comparing and contrasting your body with other girls wishing you could have the seemingly perfect life and body. People tell you all the time that you're gorgeous but they could tell you a million times and you still wouldn't feel good enough. You wish you had the natural confidence and grace that your best friends have. You wish you didn't have to put on a million outfits before you found one that didn't make you feel completely uncomfortable. But most of all you, wish you could see what everybody else sees in you.

Here's what every self-conscious girl needs to hear: As you get older, it gets easier. It gets easier to love yourself and it gets easier to accept that you will never be perfect. It gets easier to look in the mirror and be happy. You will always have a self-conscious side in you (that will never go away) but as you grow and learn what's really important in life, you forget to notice all the tiny flaws that nobody else sees anyways.

Someday you'll look in the mirror and be happy with yourself. One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever got was this: Typically, out of all of the flaws that you see in yourself, people only notice a quarter of them. Everybody is more self critical of themselves because they notice small changes from day to day. Once you realize that most people don't notice or pay attention to small details, being confident comes a lot easier.

So self-conscious girl, although its easier said than done, try to remember everyday as you get ready for the day that all of the flaws you feel are going on that particular day, no one will probably even notice them. Focus on the one great thing about yourself that you've always loved: your eyes, your hair, your long legs. If you focus on the great things, the negative things seem much more insignificant. Try to be as positive as possible and when someone makes you self-conscious remember that they probably won't be in your life forever. Friends don't make their friends self-conscious; friends are meant to be there to support and love one another.

Self criticism is hard not to dwell in; however, if you try to live your life with positive vibes then it becomes much easier to live a happy and confident lifestyle. Everybody is beautiful in their own way and should not have to live a life living in fear of rejection from others. Be positive girl! And love your body for what it is because it can only change so much. Once you love yourself and your body, life will become much much easier. Like I said earlier, as you become older and wiser everything becomes easier.

Confidence is key, so make it a goal to strive for (even if you have to fake it for awhile).