“Sometimes I forget how many times I’ve picked myself off the floor, how many times I’ve washed away smudgy makeup and put myself to bed. How many times I’ve said no to something unhealthy. Said yes to something good. How many times I’ve treated myself with kindness and patience. I forget how many times I’ve tended to wounds and made peace with my own anger. If I was taking care of a body that was not my own, I’d believe I was doing everything I could. So here’s to remembering that I’m doing the best I can.”

- Pigmenting

The most we can do in life is try. Try to be a good person. Try to be a better daughter. Try to be more accepting of others beliefs. Try to be open-minded about what other people are going through. Try to volunteer for our community. Try to make it on time to meetings with people who may not even know your first or last name. Try. Try. Try. And when you fail? Try again.

For the longest time, I would blame myself for things that didn’t work out, even if I knew they were beyond my very control. Of course, it’s not rational to blame yourself for rain on the day of your big presentation, but you can’t help it. Sure, it’s become prominent in American society to promote the idea of self-love, but it’s also been ridiculously common to blame ourselves for things that are unreasonable… things that we completely have no say over. It is true that we are our own worst critics, but it is important to remember that we are doing the best we can.

I often refer to this quote when I’m feeling down because it reminds me of how many times I was able to pick myself up again. We have all had those collapsing moments when we’ve had to pick ourselves up off the bedroom floor and force ourselves into the shower. Or force ourselves to eat something for dinner even though there was a huge pit sitting in the middle of our stomachs. These moments of weakness actually turn out to be some of the strongest moments in our lives.

You will always be a love-hate relationship with yourself, no matter how much confidence you carry. Some days are truly a struggle to recognize that your strength comes from within, not from those that you surround yourself with. Of course, your mood becomes a product of your environment, but ultimately, you are the person who decides how you’re going to react to the things that happen in your life. Even through all the chaos, you have managed to remain patient. At the end of the day, you are the person who makes yourself happy, regardless of how happy other people make you.

“If I was taking care of a body that was not my own, I’d believe I was doing everything I could.” This line resonates to me because I always put myself down when I feel like I’m not doing the best that I can to help other people. If I miss a family event, meeting, or have to call out of work for whatever reason, I always feel like I let everyone down. Sometimes you have to put these things to the side in order to make sure that you are okay first. Your mental and physical health will always be a priority over everything else in your life. If it were other people missing meetings or calling out you would understand where they are coming from, so don’t forget to take care of yourself in the same way. It’s not only necessary, it’s critical.

So don’t forget to remember who you are, and how strong you truly are without even realizing it. You have gone through hard times and managed to survive. You have lost important people in your life and have still managed to make connections with others. You have learned the importance of taking care of others, and now it’s time to learn the importance of taking care of yourself. The most you can do is try the best that you can. And when you slip up? Try again.