Like social anxiety, I have struggled with self-love for the last couple of years. Ever since I was in middle school, I have been judged for my body image and peculiar personality.
Some of my peers would tell me that I looked anorexic, they called me weird and crazy, that I needed to eat at McDonald’s more, etc.
Indeed, I have noticed that when comparing myself with a few other girls around my age, they have a wider frame than I do and may even have an extroverted personality. However, I never understood why I was a victim of this hate when I noticed the people telling me these things were also thin and carried peculiar traits as well.
The hurtful comments I have received got to me so badly that by the time I got to high school, I convinced myself that I wasn’t beautiful or worthy of anyone’s love.
Although I sought out advice from my friends, parents, and guidance counselors who have been helpful to me during these tough times, I continued to have low self-esteem and did not feel comfortable in my own skin.
It wasn’t until I came to Salisbury University last year that I started becoming a little more confident in myself. I met new people who complimented me on things I did not see in myself, followed people on Twitter who posted encouraging and positive tweets daily, created a list of things to remember in 2018 on my phone, listened to music containing positive messages, and furthered my relationship with God by praying and talking to Him daily about my problems.
It is not an easy process for some people to ignore the flaws they were once called out for and overnight love the quirky personality traits that make them unique.
In fact, I still hold my head down when people, mainly other girls look in my direction and feel like they are judging me when I go out.
But what I continue to tell myself (and you should too), is that there is beauty in knowing that there is no one in this world who is an exact copy of you. You should take advantage of that by making a name for yourself; choose to stand out from others. It is a prolonged process, but one that will be worth it in the end.