I put sticky notes all over the place -- in my car, my bedroom, my mirror…

They tell me I have a nice smile. They tell me I’m a child of the Most High God and that I’m capable. They tell me that my heart is kind.

No, I don’t believe them all, but that’s the point.

I write things on paper so that I read them over and over again and slowly begin to believe what they say.

I put the notes in places I can’t avoid.

The note on my mirror tells me I’m pretty.

Every morning when I brush my teeth, I see it staring at me, and then I see me staring at me. And as I become more familiar with the coexistence of my face and the word “pretty,” I start to find things in myself that I think might in fact be pretty.

I stop focusing on my pimples and scars and begin to see that I really kind of like the chaos of my hair.

The note on the wall of my bedroom reminds me that I’m strong. It tells me I am courageous and capable of great things. And I’m beginning to be flattered by it.

I think that as human beings we are much more consciously aware of our imperfections than we should be.

Until we teach ourselves what it means to love who we are, we will lack the capacity to accept the beauty others see in us, the beauty God sees in us.

I have reached a point in my life in which I have decided that I will fight to see myself as a beautiful human being.

I will learn to grow in humility and confidence simultaneously.

It isn’t easy, though.

So I use the sticky notes.

I want to put them everywhere.

I want to hide them in my purse and on my ceiling and inside cabinets and drawers.

I want to slap them onto other people’s cars and mailboxes and maybe even their faces.

I want everyone to challenge themselves with these silly little pieces of paper. I want the world to fall in love with human beings.

We were created to be good and to be loved and to love.

We were made to see the beauty in our eyes and not the hair that’s out of place atop our head.

Speaking of which, your eyes are insane.

Did you know that?

They’re swimming in color and stories and light.

And don’t even get me started on your heart.

It’s huge and beautiful and beating.

That scar you’re afraid to show?

It’s a story in your skin. It’s a part of you. It doesn’t define you, though; you define it.

Your mind.

You have an incredible mind.

Never underestimate the power inside of you.

You are the beginning of endless good.

Your body is beautiful.

Stop criticizing it.

You are perfectly carved from divine hands.

Take care of your temple, but love the beauty of it just as it is.

You have a killer smile.

You don’t have to have perfect teeth to have a perfect smile.

It’s the light in the grin that makes it so bright.

Smile more often; joy suits you nicely.

OK, was that hard? Did it make you feel uncomfortable to be complimented by a total stranger?

That’s exactly why I did it.

If you’d said these things to me, I might not believe them.

After all, what on earth do you know about me?

Probably a lot more than I think.

Perhaps you see me as I should see myself.

And so I will fight to see myself the way you do, and you should do the same to see yourself the way I see you.

Buy the sticky notes and throw them everywhere.

Call yourself pretty and worthy and capable and talented.

Don’t ever stop calling yourself those things, because you are all those things.

You are pretty.

I am pretty.

You are worthy.

I am worthy.

You are capable.

I am capable.

You are talented.

I am talented.

Let’s adorn ourselves with compliments.

Let’s love who we are, as we are.

Let us be humble in our journey with open eyes to see ourselves just as we are meant to.