Have you ever felt like life is a marathon and all your friends seem to be passing you by? I have. I try my best not to compare myself to others, but it's not an easy task, especially when it seems like everyone's accomplishments and "perfect" lives are posted on the internet for me to see. My competitive nature is so ingrained into me that it's hard to remember that I'm not competing amongst my friends to have "
We are our own biggest critics and other people don't notice the things we nit pick about ourselves. For the most part, I think that's true. Most girls can tell you a million things they wish they could change about themselves, and they'll be things you probably never even thought of, like "My arms are too short." I can be insecure at times, usually about things most people could care less about, like whether or not I have enough campus involvement on my resume or my abnormally long, skinny fingers. I'm actually very conscience about a lot of things, although I try my best to conceal it. I think what brings out most people's insecurities is the presence of someone who seemingly has none.
You know who I'm talking about, the girl who is good at everything and always looks perfectly put together. Insecurity strikes out of nowhere; you can be feeling great about yourself, scrolling through Instagram and suddenly see a perfectly edited pic that makes you feel like a blob wearing a sack. Perhaps you see someone's recent accomplishment on Facebook and instantly start to wonder what the heck you're doing with your life.
I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I'm my own biggest critic. I'm wonderful at thinking of all the things that I am bad at and I am always keeping a constant tally of every failure I have. However, while I'm always critiquing myself, my brain is always oohing and awwing at all my peers. I seem to be everyone else's biggest fan. My admiration for my friends isn't really a problem, but my constant self-deprecation is.
Again, I try not to compare myself to others, but I'm human, and sometimes I do, and when I do, I'm always sure to count up everyone else's successes and only count up my failures. You can imagine this does
I suppose the only way to really get over this problem is to remember that life is not a race or a competition. Unless you're applying for the same job as your friends, no one is really comparing your resume or accomplishments to theirs. Another thing to remember that I think is key, is that just because someone else is beautiful, it doesn't mean that you aren't. Even if someone else looks perfectly put together and polished, it doesn't mean that you don't look great as well.
As easy as it is to want to compare yourself to your friends, peers, and random people that you stalk on Instagram, you have to remember that you're awesome in your own way and totally unique from everyone else. This may sound ridiculously cliche and you probably heard this in elementary school, but it's the truth, and even at twenty I need to remind myself of this.
