One of the hardest parts of being a young adult is falling in love….with yourself. Especially when we live in an environment flooded with negativity, sarcasm, and harsh critiques. Learning to ignore this pessimism and to embrace the person you are is one of the longest and most challenging journeys of your life. Let me take you through my journey which began with acceptance and led to an eventual love.
I am stuck with myself. Once I accepted this statement, I began to fall deeply in love with the only woman who will forever be in my life.
For me learning what I love about myself was the key to my happiness. Relationships, friendships, acquaintances and even relatives will, unfortunately, all come and go. The only one that is forever, is you. I love the weirdest, most embarrassing and crude things about myself. Because hell, if no one else is going to love them, I might as well.
In a media controlled culture, possibly the hardest task for a young woman is accepting the body she was born with. We’ve got to remember that it needn’t require attention from men or a showering of compliments from girlfriends to realize that there was nothing wrong with us as we are. It took me a few years of high school to accept my curvy hips and chest. Maybe Kim Kardashian or Scarlet Johansson helped. Eventually, I realized I can’t change my body. Instead, I started to love it. I love that I am shaped like a woman.
Accepting the little things often leads to a greater acceptance of the self. It took all of high school for me to admit to myself that salads are boring and kind of gross. I am much better off eating steak or a meaty hamburger. I’m not embarrassed to admit that when I am home from college I often consume bacon, and only bacon, for both breakfast and lunch. Accepting that some foods taste bad is so much easier than pretending to love the taste of leaves.
It took so many embarrassing moments until I learned to love my family too. My brother stood in the bushes with his best friend and watched as I had my first kiss at the seventh grade Valentine’s Day Dance. My grandmother shouted at my 18th birthday dinner, “Eighteen and never been kissed!” in front of family, friends, and my scowling father. I know to expect it on my 19th too. I hate a lot of things that my family does. However, I have learned to love those things too. I find I am unique in the situation of having a grandfather who thinks it is funny to offer the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition to your boyfriend.
I am stuck a girl who chooses to stay at home and eat nachos and watch a baseball game. In fact, there are few things I love more than Fenway Park and the smell of beer, hot dogs, and sweaty Red Sox fans.
I have to own up to the fact that my favorite TV show is Blue Mountain State. I would estimate that 99% of the viewing pool for this show are immature college boys who cannot find a girlfriend to stop them from watching this show. I love, but am embarrassed to admit, that it took me four days to watch the entire series. Even worse, I skipped a few classes to watch it…
Essentially, what I am trying to say is that everyone leads an embarrassing, socially awkward, and uncertain life. But you’re stuck with it.
There are plenty of opportunities to get down on yourself, hate a decision you make, or regret a third slice of chocolate cake. But if you waste your time fretting, you lose precious time to just be happy. What if we put that negative energy into embracing ourselves? Love who you are becoming and spend college figuring out the things about yourself that you are stuck with. Oh, and don’t forget to smile along the way.