I am so sick of hearing people talk about "body-shaming." Just stop.

Not everyone looks the same. Not everyone was meant to look the same. Life would be sucky and boring if everyone did.

The bottom line is, body-shaming is such a big deal because people are so insecure.

Look, don't get me wrong. Insulting anyone, for any reason, is completely wrong. I'm not condoning anyone's bad behavior. I am simply stating my own opinion, which is: If you like who you are, does it matter if anyone else does?

I recently have been contemplating cutting all of my hair off in a Miley Cyrus-esque look. I like the edgy, slightly feminine, look. I received a lot of support from Facebook friends and co-workers when I was asking around to get other opinions before I made the change.

I was surprised, however, because most of the backlash came from my family and closest friends. Their main argument was "You're too big for that haircut. You need something to frame your face." While I was glad they were being honest, I was a little hurt at first.

Until I realized that I had asked for their opinion.

And they were just being honest.

And I realized, I was upset, not because they were honest but because I was being so self-conscious.

It makes me think of that old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," which is a load of crap. I really like the version that Timmy Turner's dad said on the "Fairly Odd Parents." "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words leave psychological wounds that may never heal..."

It's naive to say that words never hurt and that if they do, you must just be too self-conscious. However, if someone you don't know could destroy your self-esteem with just a few words, that's kind of a problem. If every stranger has the power to hurt you with just a single comment about how large or small you are, what kind of message is that sending about who you are as a person?

So don't say hurtful things to people. It's not that hard to not be a douche... if it's that difficult for you, just lock yourself in your mom's basement with a mirror and tell yourself how special you are.

Also, stop caring so much what people think. You're meant to love and respect everyone, not please everyone. Be a good person. Be the best you can be, but beyond that, what other people think is not your responsibility.

Get a crazy haircut. Wear crazy pants. Yell as loud as you can at pep rallies. Be as weird or as normal as you want to be. Be happy by just being and accepting yourself and ignoring the negativity.