For Christmas this year, I got a mug from a friend who knows me wayyy too well (hi Sarah, dedicated Her Campus reader!). This mug was NOT like other mugs though — instead of a cute “I love you a latte” doodle on the side, this one said “so many feelings” across the front in pink chevron zig zags. It’s one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten, and not because I’m a mug aficionado (I am, but that’s beside the point). I couldn’t believe that after only a few months of being friends, Sarah already knew me the way I know myself: as the sensitive, nostalgic, overly emotional girl who not only cried when teachers asked her nicely to be quiet in elementary school but also was the only person to cry during her high school graduation (actually, cry is an understatement—I sobbed). But despite the constant, dizzying swirl of emotions that followed me like an unshakeable shadow, Sarah still loved me. In fact, she loved me in part because I was this way, and I only needed to glance at the sparkling new mug on my desk to be reminded of that.
I’m not sure if it’s the thrill of a new decade or the fact that my first semester of college is over and I’m ready to leave that hard adjustment period behind me, but I’ve decided that I’m going to start being nicer to myself. Until Sarah gave me my infamous new mug, at some teeny-tiny, subconscious level, I truly believed there was something wrong with me. I know very few people who could cry as effortlessly as I could (really, it’s a talent), and I haven’t met many other people whose only wish sometimes was to be alone because some feelings are too much to bear in a room of loud, happy people. I am constantly criticizing myself for being too emotional, too sensitive, too anxious, too in my head, too anything and too everything, and I can’t do it anymore. It’s exhausting, and I’m only just realizing that there’s no need for it—any of it. Instead of shaming myself for the very things and feelings that make me who I am, I’m going to embrace them. I’m going to recognize that we all have feelings. That we all have moments in which crying seems to be the only logical response. That we all need to be alone sometimes. That we all, at some point or another, do not believe that we are enough. But we are. We are all enough, and we deserve to always, always know that. Even when it’s hard (and believe me, I know it’s hard!)
My hopes in writing this article are to make any Her Campus readers who may also be realizing the disturbing truth that they are their own harshest critics feel less alone, and to give whoever needs it a reminder that your perfectly imperfect self is truly doing a wonderful, wonderful job. If you don’t believe me, just look at these quotes. They’re some of my absolute favorites, and hopefully, something about their quirky Instagrammable-ness will make you believe them, too.
- Self-love. That’s All.
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I credit this cartoon? meme? perfect little drawing? with introducing me to the incredible concept of self-love, and I just love everything about it.
- The Other Golden Rule
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Always a good reminder that love can’t be wasted, especially on yourself (plus the balloons are pretty cute).
- Still a Rockstar, Always a Rockstar
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Although I can’t even remember the last time I went to bed at 9 pm, I haven’t given up on that dream of mine yet, and I love this drawing for being yet another reminder that IT’S OKAY TO REST WHEN YOU’RE TIRED. Especially at a work-hard, play-hard school like Notre Dame, where it can often feel like you’re not doing the whole “college” thing right if you opt to go to bed early instead of studying or going out. But you are! You’re doing it right!
- Come Back!
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Yep. Yep. Yep. There is simply just not enough time in your precious life to be anything but optimistic, so come back! Come back! Come back!
- I Was Busy
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All I have to say is: self-preservation is so underrated. Do what YOU need to do to feel your best—your friends will understand!! They will!!