Learning to Love yourself

Self love and its importance is something that is plastered on instagrams, hallways, newspapers, and in the back of everyone's head. Even though it is so utterly paramount to respect yourself and love you for you, it is pretty hard when we live in a society that is practically just a concoction of insecurities and constant comparison. Loving yourself is basically an oxymoron within itself if you truly start to think about what it really means. Instagram models emphasize the importance of "it doesn't matter what you look like" and "Just be you", but it is pretty hard to love yourself when the people telling you to do so are 5 foot 11 models with perfect skin, hair, bodies, and lives. How are you supposed to listen to these "people" when they are the definition of perfection. After lots of research, I formulated a list of the "top insecurities women have" because I really wanted to understand how much women truly do love themselves...

One of the most common insecurities women face on a day to day is their acne. This is sooo common in today's world, but women often feel pressure to cover up their acne up with pounds of makeup because it as seen as ugly and gross to have this skin condition. While many people think this, everyone has definitely faced some type of skin ailment in their life. Some may just be better at hiding it. Acne is a part of life, and even though it is can be an inconvenience, just because you have acne, does not mean you are any less beautiful. Thankfully, women have begun to try to normalize acne all over social media. It is astonishing to see other women trying to boost each others confidence rather than tear them down.

Another widespread insecurity women face is their weight. This one is pretty obvious because everyone has ingrained into their head what the "perfect body" looks like. Well, the "perfect body" is completely unrealistic. One of my favorite quotes about being perfect is by Courtney Love. She says that "Real girls aren't perfect, and perfect girls aren't real." I absolutely love and agree with this. Perfection is unattainable and if you think someone is "perfect", they are probably not. Most people want what they don't have, and no one is truly going to be 100% happy with themselves because the grass is always going to be greener on the other side. When I feel insecure about my body, I often tell myself: What would the world be like if we all looked the same. Think about that the next time you feel insecure.

An issue that tides together with feeling insecure about your body is having cellulite. Cellulite is usually considered "taboo" or "unattractive", but the fact of the matter is, cellulite is inevitable. People believe that cellulite just comes down to what you put in your body because "you are what you eat." But what they do not know, is that statement is completely false. While some parts of diet can play a role in determining your amount of cellulite, it really just comes down to your genetics and age. Women will spend hours at the gym trying to make the negative aspects of their body go away, but they will often see no sign of progress because their cellulite will not disappear. This is often because they are genetically predisposed to have cellulite or are at a certain age where cellulite is very common. Instead of dwelling upon this issue, I think that women need to embrace it. Whoever decided that cellulite is ugly, should go. away. right. now.

Finally, women often are super self conscious about their Instagram following's and other Instagram users. Since we live in a society where technology is all we know, people have begun to think that having tons of followers on social media means you have finally made something of yourself. While that sounds completely ridiculous, it is true. Sometimes I find myself trying to have the most followers out of my friends. I know this is terrible, but I have to admit that I have succumb to the world wide phenomenon. I don't know why this is true, but people tend to think that the more followers you have is equivalent to your self worth. I hate to break it to you, but that is not an inverse relationship. If you find yourself all I can say is... get off your phone and try to experience the real world. If all else fails, just go outside. :)

Much Love,

Eva