The first time I didn't feel good enough for the world was when I was in seventh grade and a guy referred to me as ugly. His hurtful opinion made me cry. That night, I tried putting makeup on and a push-up bra on, hoping to be pretty enough for the him and the world.
I remember the first time I watched the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and saw a guy from my town tweet "Why can't the girls in our town look like this?" I soon questioned why I wasn't skinny enough. That night, I worked out for three hours. That year, I went from a size 4 to a size 0, and still didn't feel skinny enough.
I remember when I found out a guy wasn't as faithful to me as I had thought. I couldn't help but find myself questioning what I did wrong. I didn't believe I was good enough to ever please a guy. That night, I cried and doubted my worth. The other girl was prettier than me and cooler than me, and I just wasn't enough for this boy.
And then in college, when I failed that test I spent all week studying for, I realized I wasn't smart enough to keep up with my classes 24/7 and have the GPA I dreamt of.
Although these are personal stories for me, I know these are normal for most girls. We doubt our worth, compare ourselves constantly, and never seem to be good enough for the world. And it is time I tell every young girl what I've learned in my lifetime of 19 short years--you will never be enough.
If there is one thing we struggle with as girls, it is the never-ending desire to be enough for the world. We put on makeup and that obnoxious push-up bra in hopes of being hot enough for the attractive guy in our Chemistry class. We use big words to sound smart enough for the job we want. We do everything our significant other wants us to, even if it is in a toxic relationship, in hopes of being good enough for him and feeling wanted. However, we always fall short, because the grass is greener on the other side, and yes, there is always someone out there hotter, smarter, and more "enough" than you.
Sometimes I wasn't pretty enough for the guy, and other times, I wasn't smart enough for the test. But those thoughts and opinions do not define my worth. My worth is more than that.
My dream is to one day see a society where the only time we use the word enough is when we are asking "am I joyful enough?" or "am I ME enough?" We never question the way God created us, because although we can't be the hottest girl ever, He hand-crafted us the way we are for a reason. We don't depend on likes for temporary satisfaction or anyone's approval to make us happy. We only fix our eyes on the joy of our creator.
We as women need to strive to not let "enough" thoughts rattle our brains daily. We need to focus the energy we use critiquing ourselves into seeing the beauty in our imperfection instead. We need to find our worth in our creator and not from the temporary satisfaction we get from our worldly possessions like beauty, intelligence, and wealth.
I'm not saying to not try to look decent in the morning, or to never study for a test, I am saying that you shouldn't let your worth become focused on those traits, because you will be left disappointed and feeling like you're never enough.
Although you won't be enough for the world, the one who created you says you don't need makeup, a push-up bra, or killer social media game. The one who created you knows you are an imperfect person with flaws, but loves you besides them. Your creator doesn't even just look past your flaws, He sees your mistakes and flaws and He loves you and your 56 on your Biology exam much more than your boss or the guy on the football team.
You aren't enough--and that is a beautiful thing, because it makes God's love even sweeter.
2 Corinthians 4:18: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."