I get it. I’ve been there. You feel like you are not as good as anyone who passes you on the street. You can’t seem to catch a break with the guys. You can’t seem to be who you think everyone wants you to be. Stop. Everyone wants you to be you. You don’t need the boys who take hours to respond to your text. You don’t need the friends who make you feel like you need to do what they are doing to fit in. You don’t need it.

You know what you need? Self-respect. When I thought everyone was better than me, I would look in the mirror and point out all of my flaws. I would notice how I had a pimple on my forehead, I would notice how big my thighs were, I would notice how my jeans didn’t say “zero” on the waist, and I would notice how I wasn’t them. I didn’t have the cute boyfriend that the girl next door had. I didn’t have the new cars that all the beautiful blonde girls were getting. I didn’t have their life. I thought that everything in the world was going against me. I didn't have what they had because the world just seemed to be fighting my desires.

You know what I did have? My life. I had a family who was behind me every step of the way supporting me with any decision I made. I had friends that made me realize what true friendship was. I had boys come into my life that showed me what I truly deserved. I deserved to realize how important I was to the people who truly loved me and accepted me for who I was.

I was a girl who had a pimple on her forehead, a girl who would notice how big her thighs were, a girl whose jeans didn’t say “zero” on the waist. I was a girl who wasn’t them. I was me. The best thing that has happened to me in my life is realizing my self-worth. I do not deserve to be ignored by people who do not belong in my life. I do not deserve to look in the mirror and not feel confident about who I am fortunate enough to be. I do not deserve to sit around and let society tell me who I should be. I am me and that is good enough.

Everyone deserves to look in the mirror and be proud of who they are and what they have. Everyone needs to realize that they have potential and society cannot break that. Society does not define who you are. You do. You are important and you will make a difference. So stop waiting around for that boy to text you back. Stop comparing yourself to the girl next door who has the cute boyfriend. Compare yourself to the girl you were in the past and learn from your mistakes.

You deserve it.