It seems that girls today are bombarded with images of perfectly airbrushed women in magazines and on billboards. The women on TV and in movies are always beautifully put together, no hair out of place and no nail unfiled. Fashion week models are these incredibly thin women with legs that go on for miles. The pressure that comes with attempting to live up to these expectations is not only unbearable but also physically impossible.
It’s no secret that the women in the magazines don’t look like the women we see every day. Instead of idolizing these airbrushed, manicured women or flipping the pages of a magazine to find perfection why don’t we look in a mirror instead? The person you see staring back is the epitome of true beauty.
Stop focusing on what you hate about your body.  Focus on what we love about it.  It’s much more productive to love the way you look than it is to hate the way you look, that I can promise you.
I struggled to love my body for years. I stood in front of the mirror many times and wished my thighs were smaller, that my stomach wasn’t as round, and that I could fit into size 2 jeans.
My sophomore year, I was sitting on my dorm bed with my headphones in, music blasting. All of a sudden I could not stop worrying about what I was going to wear that night. I was thinking about how I couldn’t wear a tight dress like all of my friends. Caught in a panic, I took a step back to reevaluate.  That’s when I realized; criticizing every aspect of my body wasn’t going to change the way I felt. I would have to make the conscious decision to start loving the body I had. That was the moment I decided I would no longer give access to negative body thoughts. I knew I would be happier this way.
It’s okay to not be confident all of the time. Do I still have insecurities? Of course! There are days I feel like I’m as big as a whale! Those days, however, no longer define me.
Yes, body acceptance is much easier said than done. Regardless, body acceptance is 100% possible. You are the key to loving your body, no one can do it for you. Instead of focusing on what you hate, take the time to appreciate all the positive characteristics that make you the unique individual that you are. Take it from me, it’s a long and difficult road but it is extremely worth it.
Stop looking at media outlets as inspiration. The only inspiration you need is from within.Â