In case no one has told you today, you are absolutely gorgeous.

I know it is so hard to think of yourself as a beautiful person. We’re taught to hate our bodies, to stand in front of a mirror every day and pick out every single detail of ourselves that is less than “perfect.” We know that everything published in the media is the work of Photoshop, and isn’t real. And yet, we still compare ourselves to those unrealistic “perfect” images. It’s so hard to feel confident about yourself and your own body when you see the latest issue of any magazine and see a celebrity with flat abs, and without a roll of fat while posing in sexy lingerie, modeling society’s “perfect” body.

Today, I don’t want you to compare yourself to others. I want you to celebrate the body you are in, and the life you are living. I want you to look in a mirror and tell yourself, out loud, that you are beautiful. Go ahead and do it right now.

Every single inch of your body is unique to you. You are perfect just the way you are. Still don’t believe me? Find the closest mirror and look deeply into it. Look at how your hair shines when the sunlight hits it. Admire your eyes. Your eye color belongs to you, and only you. Fall in love with your nose, your mouth, your ears, your freckles, and your dimples. All of those little characteristics add up to the beautiful individual that is you, and no one else.

I want you to love your body and everything it can do. You are able to walk on your own. You can run, skip, hop, and jump to your heart’s content. You are able to put your strong arms around someone in an embrace and give them love. Your beautiful body could become a vessel for another human being. You could give life to someone else someday. Or, maybe you have already given life to another human. Think about how amazing that is. Just because your body doesn’t look like the cover of a magazine doesn’t mean it’s ugly. Your body is beautiful because of everything it does for you every day, and while most days these things go unnoticed, I want you to notice them today.

Your beauty is unlike anything else., it is unique to you, and only you. I know that everyone around you sees your beauty, and all I could ever want is for you to see it too.