Do you compare yourself to others?

Do you wish you could have her hair or her body or her legs or her butt or her personality or her boyfriend or her clothes or her smile or her laugh or her job or her relationship with her parents or her faith or her encouraging spirit or her attitude or............and...... it goes on.

Comparison is so real. Yet, it makes us so fake.

I used to be like you comparing my every move to a girl much prettier or more smarter than I. But, I learned it was hurting my own self in the process. In fact, comparing ourselves actually has the ability to put more shameful and hurtful thoughts into our brains. But, isn't that point? Isn't what we are trying to do is to perfect ourselves even more so we can become more perfect in our minds and spirit and body. Because, the thought process is: "If I can just be like her in just even the most tiniest amount possible, I would be a more better person, and I will feel more confident, and I will finally be PERFECT."

Perfection. It is what we are striving for. And, heck, it is hard not to because we are surrounded by perfect looking people all day long. At the grocery store on the magazine stand, at Sephora where the makeup artist's makeup is legit perfect, at school where 85 percent of the student body looks flawless in their make up or non-makeup skin, on tv where the Kardashian's and the Bachelorette's make up looks AMAZING...and lets not just talk about makeup: we also think these ladies have perfect bodies, perfect relationships, and perfect lives.

But... news flash: We are not perfect. THEY are not perfect either.

I am writing this because I used to struggle with this too. I would compare myself all day long if I could have the chance. But, I want us to realize it is okay to be more real with each other. The media and the shows that we watch want us to obsess over these women because the more we focus our attention on them, the more money they make because of us scrolling through their Instagram feed, or tweeting @ them trying to figure out where they got their outfit from or make up or shoes or whatever.

Us girls in the REAL WORLD have to understand that our lives will never be like theirs. And, that is okay. Thankfully, we were made for reality and I think that is the most perfect opportunity of life we could ever live. Because: it's real.

And, we deal with real hard stuff, so the more we keep striving to be like someone we are not, the more we are taking away from becoming who we were specifically created to be on this earth.

Here are some of my realities for ya:

I have been fighting severe depression for years and sometimes it's just hard to breathe and slow down.

I sometimes wonder where I would be if I'd never gone to eating disorder treatment 2 years ago.

I fail as a daughter.

I pray my future daughter does not have an eating disorder.

I pray I have kids. As fertility is a huge concern of mine.

I sometimes think I am still not good enough.

I am learning I suck at patience and I hate knowing I am going to have to learn to wait and take things slow, because a rushed life is a no fun life.

I sometimes wonder who my true friends are.

I wonder if I made to go to school for what I am majoring in.

I wonder if I am ever going to get married.

So, I don't have it all together. And, my life is FAR from perfect. But, I am SO okay with that!

No one's life is perfect.

Please, be reminded, we all have stuff going on in our lives and you have your own. Don't just be a people watcher, be a people knower. You know the person you are comparing to is not perfect, so don't make them out to be that way.

Save yourself the heartache and comparison, and be real with what you're going through. Chances are not only does someone want to hear about it, but they can relate to it.

You are not alone, my imperfect friend. Life is hard, but we get through it together. Taking one step forward each day....unfollowing that "perfect Kardashian" one click at a time.....looking at that girl in your class and knowing she's not perfect either, so you are going to focus on yourself and what you can do to add a positive change to yourself.....and opening up to those in your life that it is okay to not be okay and we can get okay together.

Comparison is deadly. So, don't do it.

And, sweet friend, whatever it is you are going through.....

...You are perfectly understood.