For the entirety of my nineteen years on this earth, I have never reached the five foot mark. Four foot and eleven inches, as my driver's license adamantly claims; however, my stature still falls ever so slightly under that mark. Virtually everyone I have befriended has made a comment about it: "Oh, wow, you are so tiny! Adorable!" Comments such as those are usually met with a loving eye roll and a chuckle, "Thank you."

In a culture seemingly dominated by a strained, media-induced idea of ideal beauty, where women "should" have a thigh gap and an hour-glass body, where men "should" have broad shoulders and wash-board abs, where even the slightest hint of what society deems as imperfection can offset a spiral of fad diets and rigorous exercise regimens, it is quite obvious that our perception of beauty is skewed.

Each individual's idea of beauty is opinionated. It is in this instance where one should take the time to reevaluate the difference between opinion and fact; fact, down to its literal definition, is universal as common knowledge and is indisputable; The Notebook is a film based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian thus far, Disney World is an amusement park located in Florida. Opinion, on the other hand, is an individual's judgement or belief about a particular topic that is not necessarily based upon fact; The Notebook lacked a sense of reality, Michael Phelps is the GOAT (greatest of all time), Disney World is the most incredible place on the face of the planet.

To emphasize, opinions are not true among everyone, despite how true it feels for that particular individual.

Psychologically, as intelligent human beings, it is natural for us to make these comparisons; simply put, our brains are wired to do so-- it makes it easier to consolidate and process information, therefore, we are born with the inclination to judge others and ourselves, sometimes to a fault. While nearly impossible to escape this, one must realize the importance of self-esteem and self-worth. We are not inclined to adhere to society's stigmas on appearance and stereotypes, and certainly by no means should we do so.

Ah, again, the body positivity and self-esteem speech. Writers have written about it countless times, Tumblr is flooded with "artsy" edits and renditions of quotes about it, and the lanky teenager looks at him- or herself in the mirror, stressing aloud that an individual is so much more than his or her appearance. While I am definitely not discussing a topic in an unexplored territory, there is a reason for this, why the topic of body and self-esteem and constant reassurances keep resurfacing; you are still comparing yourself to someone else, someone that can never, on any level, be the incredible, awe-inspiring and unique individual that is you.

Your clear, brilliant eyes gloss across each word of this article; you are educated, you are literate, you have the potential to learn and contribute to the world into which you were brought. You, at some point, were discouraged by your imperfections; you have the ability to feel fervently and empathize, you are able to relate to others and form meaningful connections.

Your imperfections define you.

Embrace them, let them humble you, but by no means cater to them.

So yes, the weather is fine down here, thank you.