Body image is something I, like most people, have struggled with my entire life. I vividly remember crying in a Kohl's bathroom when I was in middle school because I hated how I looked in a bikini. I would walk around in high school comparing my frumpy kilt to the way it seemingly fit perfectly on every other girl's body.

I've never had a flat stomach. I've always had unproportionally large boobs. I know for sure I've never had a thigh gap.

I've gone through phases in my life where I have differing opinions about my body. I used to refuse to wear a bikini, so I was the only girl out of all my friends sporting a tankini. Then I went to college and gained a lot of weight thanks to anxiety, medication, and the classic culprit, drinking. At that point, I was ignoring the fact that I hated my body by doing everything I could to make it appeal to boys around me.

None of that was healthy, and I knew I was putting it on myself. So I got my ass in gear. I changed my mind, and then I changed my body.

I work at a cycling studio, so I see lots of different bodies come in and out every day. There are the girls with six-pack abs, the girls with flat stomachs, and the girls like me.

I lost all the weight I had gained my first year of college (and more), but I was still uncomfortable with my curves. I thought curves were a synonym for "fat," and it wasn't until I discovered the #StrongNotSkinny movement that I finally felt at home in my body.

You see, I may never have a flat stomach, six-pack abs, or a thigh gap. I think girls that do are badass and should be proud of their bodies. But having a #StrongNotSkinny mindset allows me to feel badass too. I like the body that I have, but I'm determined to work hard to keep it a place where I feel strong. It isn't about losing weight for me anymore, it's about a feeling.

What does that feeling constitute? I can look at girls who have the body I envied in middle and high school and not immediately compare myself to them. I can lift and not think my arms are "big." I can wear a size 8 and not be sad looking at a rack of size 2 clothes.

Being strong isn't just physical. In fact, I'd say it's more mental. In order for you to be okay with the skin you're in, regardless if that means changing how you look or not, you have to have a strength within you that allows you to remove yourself from the world around you and just be you.

It's not simple. And I'm not saying I have it down. But I am saying that I have worked my ass off to get where I am now, both physically and mentally, and I deserve to be proud of that.

So next time you try on a pair of jeans and they're too small, don't let it get you down. Take it as an opportunity to find something that works for you. You don't need to look like anyone else. You don't need to be stereotypically "skinny" to be beautiful. Honestly, all you need to be beautiful is to believe you're strong.

I can look in the mirror and believe in me. You should give it a try.