Love Yourself For Who You Are

Photographed by:  Deasy S.

I remember getting my first pair of glasses as a second grader, and dreading it.  I found the tiny metal frames resting on the bridge of my nose not only uncomfortable and annoying, but also, rather hideous.  I would take off my glasses for pictures, before visiting my childhood crush, and found every excuse not to wear them.  For nearly a decade, I begged my mom for contact lens, and finally got my first pair freshman year of high school.  I haven’t stepped out of the house in glasses since then, but as I grow older, I realize, especially as a girl in her early 20’s, I spend way too much time fussing over tiny flaws and blemishes. 

Believe me, there’s always going to be something that troubles us at any age—maybe as a child, it was glasses, then in high school, acne, then as you grow older, weight—until finally, when you hit your 40s, wrinkles.  I must admit, I fussed over, and, still continue worry about everything listed above, but realized, I’m always my harshest judge. 

As women, we set such high standards, and harshly critique ourselves on a daily basis.  This changes the way we view ourselves, and the person we see in the mirror isn’t the same person others see.  Not too long ago, a FBI Forensics Sketch Artist participated in a study that captured the unseen beauty in women.  The artist sketched two portraits of the same person—one sketch based off of the participant’s description of herself, and the other, a stranger’s description.  This resulted in two very different pictures—one of a gorgeous woman that looked very much like the participant herself, and the other, of someone much more unattractive.  We’re our own worst critiques.  In short, the study “speaks to the very universal feeling that women have that they’re not as perfect as they’d like to be”

Instead of spending more than half our lives focused on fixing our flaws, we should be grateful of what we’re blessed with, and love ourselves fully, turning our insecurities into something we're proud of!  I did a photoshoot with my glasses on a couple of weeks ago, and encourage all of you to step out of your comfort zone, learn to accept flaws that bother you most, and love yourself for who you are.