Dear everyone who hates the person looking back at them,

What is it that you don't like about yourself?

Do you wish your boobs were smaller, or larger?

Are your teeth not as straight, white, and pristine as the celebrities' on magazines?

Are your feet too big? Narrow? Wide?

Do you want to be shorter, or taller?

Is your booty not as perky as all the "at home workouts" you've tried promised it would be?

Would you rather be a blonde, brunette, or maybe even a red-head?

Is your skin too pasty and ghostly, or are you sick of your dark tones that don't match any "nude" clothing?

Are there bumps on your skin you want to wish away?

What about your eyes: do you want longer lashes? A better arch to your brow? A different tint in your color?

Whatever it may be that has you down all I can say is: GET OVER IT. Is that too harsh? Maybe so but I've been there before. The young girl staring at herself over and over, sometimes until it brought me to tears. Picking at every pore, fussing over any little thing I saw as an "imperfection." It broke me.

I started pushing myself to workout more times a week than there are days: running 5K's after morning kick-boxing classes. I wouldn't let myself eat things that were considered "treating myself" without feeling instant regret or shame. I was 5' 11", 140lbs (sometimes a little less), a size 4, and thought I was humongous. No I didn't starve myself and no I did not purge, but that doesn't mean I was healthy. I could feel my hips regardless of if I was laying down, I could count my ribs when I raised my arms, and my friends would call me "skinny-minnie" whenever they hugged me.

Today I am 5' 11", 165lbs, a size 8, and HAPPY. Yes there are days when my stomach bloats or I look in the mirror and am less than satisfied with how I look in an outfit. It comes with living life and understanding that not every day and moment will be a picture-perfect magazine moment. What I finally realized is that you get this 1 body to experience this 1 life with. You miss out on so many moments and memories when you sit there absorbed by the negative thoughts of how you may look or what the calories in that cookie are.

A beautiful thing about this life is that it is YOURS to write. So don't give those devilish attitudes the pen and control.

There will be someone who smiles at how your eyes light up when you talk about your favorite food. Someone who laughs at how you hit every wrong note singing to your favorite songs in the car. Someone who can't wait to feel your body, (that you think is imperfect) fit perfectly into their arms when they get to hug you. People who want to see you happy and share moments and memories with you: regardless of your contour and the number on your waistband.