Beyond all things romantic, there is another form of love that us women tend to undervalue: self-love. Self-love is the type of love that encourages you to become your best self, to have the inner confidence to always recognize your own worth. Self-love is the type of love that helps you find validation within yourself, instead of searching for it in someone else. Self-love is the type of love that only helps you strengthen your connections with those around you. While being loved by another is a wonderful feeling, self-love is a force that can guide women through all the obstacles of our male-dominated world.
The beautiful thing about self-love is that it matches each person’s individuality and uniqueness; there is no one-size-fits-all formula for what it means to love yourself unconditionally. For college students, this could mean finding time to get more sleep and rest. For working mothers, this could mean prioritizing exercise within a packed schedule. Self-love doesn’t have to be stressful, it could be as simple as finding five minutes to do something for yourself or taking a break from all of your other priorities.
Yet, women have such a hard time grappling with this idea, the value of prioritizing ourselves over others. Is this likely from societal pressures? Probably. Women have always been inherently trained to care for others. In families, they are usually pressured to become the caregiver and sacrifice their own time to cook, clean, and manage their households. Above all, women and young girls are taught to never complain or stand up for themselves. Selfishness is often praised in men, and considered a form of strength and courage when they prioritize themselves. Yet, it is so hard for women to take time for themselves because society pressures us to feel like we failed or as if we are incapable of handling the challenges thrown at us.
While this culture will take a long time to change, I believe it starts with us, women. Let’s normalize self-love and prioritize our own goals and mental health, and show society that we deserve our own humanity and grace, too.
