Unapologetically Me
Learn to Love Yourself as You Are!
It can be hard to be yourself.
With all these people around you projecting their “#bestlife”, it can be hard not to compare yourself to them. How do you deal?
This is a common problem amongst us teenagers: comparing ourselves to others. With social media platforms, it can be super difficult not to! Personally, I went through a sort of identity crisis in the sixth grade. I was somewhere in between wanting to be noticed and wanting to disappear into the background. I did it all! I straightened my curls, dyed them red, purple, blue, and green (not all at once, just to be clear), gave myself bangs, and refused to wear anything other than black. The change from my goofy, natural self to an awkward punk rocker was jarring for my poor parents, but it was who I wanted to be.
Since sixth grade, I have calmed down a lot. I’m back to my black curls and I am happier than I have ever been since sixth grade. Part of what changed for me is that I have gotten better about not comparing myself to others. Of course, I still catch myself thinking “I wish my hair was long like hers” or “I wish I was as confident as he is”, but then I step back and realize: I am me and that’s all I need.
How does one get to this point of self-love with all these seemingly “perfect” people around them?
Identify what you like and do not like about yourself and self-affirm.
Do you like your smile but not your nose? Take some time to look in the mirror and try to figure out why you might like one thing and not the other. When you identify what it is, take what you do not like and what you do like and turn it into a self-affirmation. For example, “The way my nose scrunches up when I smile is super cute”.
Take a listen to our Social Media Effect Playlist to lift your mood. A happy you is a confident and beautiful you!
Stop the negative talk.
Stop the negative self-talk. Stop talking negatively about others. Keep track of how many times a day you say something negative about yourself or someone/something else. When you see how much negativity you spill out into the world you might start to understand why you are upset with the way you are. Putting yourself or others down will not get you anywhere; you will be right where you started. Instead of letting yourself be negative, focus on promoting a culture of kindness!
Surround yourself with positivity.
This includes the people in your life, the music you listen to, and the accounts you follow online. Analyze how your friends treat you, are they really your friends if they put you down constantly? What type of music do you listen to? If the music is filled with negativity, there’s a chance that it is affecting your look on life and yourself. How about the type of people you follow on social media? Scroll through your following list and unfollow anyone who makes you feel insecure. One of the reasons why social media causes so much depression and anxiety for us humans is because we do not follow the positive and empowering role models online!
There are many beautiful, realistic, and cool people out there! You just have to open your eyes to the positives.
Log offline and practice self care.
Take a break from social media periodically. When you take the time to disconnect from the online world, you will have more time to spend getting to know your friends, family, and yourself in person. (That’s where the true relationships are built.) Getting to know yourself is an essential part of learning how to self-love.
Accept yourself.
Realize that you are wonderful. There is no one else in this world that is just like you. No one else has your physical attributes, no one else thinks the same things as you, no one else laughs just like you, and no one else is as amazingly unique as you are. Flaunt that.
Maria Soto is a junior at Ripon High. Her personal goals for this school year are to be as involved as she can and achieve a high grade point...
