Unfortunately for those of us in this generation, we all feel entitled to share our opinion about Every. Single. Thing. That. Happens. And I suppose I’m guilty for this too, because the following will be my opinion about the above quote.

All in all, I love it. Maybe it’s because this has been me, countless times. As I’ve written about, I dealt with horrible depression a couple of years back- and I did cry on the floor, curled up in a shaking ball, wishing it would all end. Not always at 3AM- sometimes at 7:30 am, or 4:15 pm, or at night when I was trying to sleep. SO many times I’d cry and plead to something higher than me to just make it all go away, but eventually, the tears would trickle down to nothing and the panicked fear would subside. I would be the one that would have to tell myself “Get up, go to school, and just get through the day.” I would be the one who would have to care enough about myself to convince me to stop crying and stop thinking sick thoughts and to get on with my day.

And at this time, I did have my best friend who I leaned on. I told her when I wasn’t feeling well, and I got so caught up in the downward spiral that I depended on her to love me enough to make me get over it. But after a few times of her getting annoyed with me (and in reality, who should really have to deal with my sadness other than me?), I realized that I can’t actually rely on anyone else to make these bad feelings go away.

Fast forward to today, and I feel so much better. I have enough self-love and self-respect to carry myself. And I am not saying that if you are depressed you should keep it to yourself, because if you are feeling depressed at all I encourage you to reach out to someone. My point of the mini flashback, is my realization that at the end of the day, at the end of it all, I need to be in charge of my happiness. I am the only one who can control my happiness, and that is something which has taken me a very long to learn.

There are many things which anger me, confuse me, or just conflict with me being content, and it definitely takes effort to not let these things affect me. People who do not treat me the way I have learned I deserve to be treated, I pull away from. I have learned that my mental wellbeing is more important to me than anything. I could have everything in the world I’ve ever wanted, but if my mentality is altered, then it is not helping me.

And the very definition of self-love could change for each person. For some people, it means being a super healthy (working out every single day, eating organic or even vegan, etc) and such, but to me- as long as you are taking care of yourself, you are practicing self-love.

Loving yourself is not as out-of-reach as it may seem, you know. You could start out with something simple, and work your way into it. For example, I enjoy nature and the little things accompanying it. So, every night I try to see the sunset before it gets dark, even if just for a second. I also try, if I can, to look through the leaves at the sun shining through. These may sound VERY simple and not even worth it doing, but they make me happy. They help me appreciate the other little things in life, as well as helping calming my nerves. If I knew someone else enjoyed these little things, I’d be sure to point it out to them, so why shouldn’t I do the same for myself?

Realizing your worth can be difficult for those of us with insecurities, but it is possible. And I am not above this either- my journey to love myself fully is not over. I still have many insecurities and anxieties to overcome, but I know that I will gain my confidence eventually and, for now, that is enough.