To the girl who hates what she see's in the mirror,

I used to think I was fat. Like really...really fat.

I have never been even remotely overweight and my doctors occasionally told me that it wouldn't hurt to gain a few pounds. I'd smile and nod and make a joke about getting to eat even more than I already was.

I treated shopping like cardio and I can't remember the last time I ate a salad and actually enjoyed it. I was still skinny. If you saw me on the street you would think I was perfectly healthy, because I was.

But that didn't matter to me, looking in the mirror made me nervous.

I always liked my face, my hair, my smile, I was pretty confident. But if you showed me my stomach I would show you 10 girls with smaller waists than me.

I wanted to look like a model. Victoria's Secret if you want to get specific. I started going to the gym constantly and researching every "Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days" diet I could find. I went shopping with my mom for some fall clothes and had a break down in the fitting room.

I had lost 3 pounds and I still felt absolutely disgusting. In the middle of the night, I cried for 30 minutes and drove myself to the gym.

I'm happy with the way I look now. I think I'm really gorgeous.

It's not because I lost any significant amount of weight. It's not because my friends and family constantly tell me how tiny I am and that it's all in my head. I know it's all in my head, that doesn't make me feel any better.

That was the problem, my head. I used to be able to look in the mirror for hours and love every single inch of myself. But once it's in your head that you need to change, it's hard to make those thoughts go away.

I love my body now, but I fully acknowledge the way I used to feel. If you're a girl who's struggling with your weight, don't let others tell you that you're being dramatic. Your thoughts and feelings are completely valid.

If you want to change the way you look, do it. But do it with love.

You can't rely on the opinions of others to help you love yourselves. Their comments may make you feel beautiful, but they will never fulfill you. You deserve all of the love in the entire world, but it has to come to you first.

If you take anything from this article I hope it's this. You're beautiful no matter what. You're not beautiful "even though you're chubby". You're not beautiful "even though you don't look like a Victoria Secret model".

You're beautiful because you have a heart and a brain and a body that are nothing like the person next to you.