This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Endicott chapter.

I recently started working at an organization centered around young girls where the message behind everything is to make them feel empowered, and for them to be able to empower others. If you know me that is my actual goal in life, and I say it all the time I want to empower others to empower themselves and everyone else around them. Sadly, the middle school aged girls I was working with were filled with insecurities and because of that they talked poorly about themselves and to others. Don’t get me wrong, in middle school, I was very similar and would look at others or social media and just compare my still growing, awkward body.

I think almost everyone can attest to feeling insecure about themselves at one point or another when looking at some gorgeous or handsome model on your feed. I know I sometimes tend to compare myself to others on social media. I mean honestly, I follow a thousand beautiful girls! With this said, I’ve definitely learned to not let the jealousy or insecurity get the best of me anymore. I remember in middle school the “thigh gap” was big, and I knew I could never have one and that was something that made me feel fat. I think the older I got though, something happened where big butts and curvier girls became what everyone wanted too. I then realized you can’t have a big butt without thick thighs and I learned to love my own. I also realized trends like that will always change, but you can’t always change your own body. I’ve learned to love a lot about myself, and I think I have because I know the way I treat myself will reflect in everything I do.

That was something we tried to teach the younger girls about. Having self-worth and love will allow you to believe in yourself and ultimately help you to be the best person you can be. When someone is unhappy with themselves, it usually shows in many aspects of their life and sometimes their unhappiness can become something that brings others down too. It’s the classic middle school bullying examples: jealous and insecure people bringing others down to make themselves feel better.

I truly believe that the more you honor your body, mind, and soul, the more good you will end up doing. The way you treat yourself and talk to yourself matters! By feeling insecure and talking negatively about yourself it can enable others to view you that way or they will even begin to see themselves that way. You are what you preach. You are able to set a standard for yourself and that becomes everything. That is how people decide they want to be your friend, significant other, your boss, etc. The way you present yourself and truly feel about yourself will always shine through. So I think to be the best version of yourself, you need to treat yourself with kindness and respect, and with that, you will get it back from others.

Of course, this is much easier said than done. It can take time to begin the process of loving and accepting yourself. Especially if you have gone through experiences that have made you doubt yourself, your ability, your beauty. Trust me, it’s taken me years of hard work. I’m lucky to be surrounded by people who love me, and I tend to keep my circle small just because I know who I’m my best self around. I practice self-care all the time to make sure I’m feeling good about myself and where I’m at including blogging, journaling, exercising, reading, etc. Gratitude logs too will help me to realize what truly matters. It’s always going to be reminders that other things are worth more than the size pants I wear or how my body doesn’t look like Kendall Jenner.

At the end of the day, I am kind to myself.

Self Worth

I truly believe that the more you honor your body, mind, and soul the more good you will end up doing. The way you treat yourself and talk to yourself matters! By feeling insecure and talking negatively about yourself it can enable others to view you that way or they will even begin to see themselves that way. You are what you preach. You are able to set a standard for yourself and that becomes everything. That is how people decide they want to be your friend, significant other, your boss, etc. The way you present yourself and truly feel about yourself will always shine through so I think to be the best version of yourself, you need to treat yourself with kindness and respect, and with that, you will get it back from others.

Of course, this is much easier said than done. It can take time to begin the process of loving and accepting yourself. Especially if you have gone through experiences that have made you doubt yourself, your ability, your beauty. Trust me, it’s taken me years of hard work. I’m lucky to be surrounded by people who love me, and I tend to keep my circle small just because I know who I’m my best self around. I practice self-care all the time to make sure I’m feeling good about myself and where I’m at including blogging, journaling, exercising, reading, etc. Gratitude logs too will help me to realize what truly matters, and it’s always going to be reminders that other things are worth more than the size pants I wear or how my body doesn’t look like Kendall Jenner.

At the end of the day, I am kind to myself.

Being Kind To Yourself

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