The other day, I saw a quote that read “you are beautiful, but that’s the least thing that matters”. This quote accentuates how every single individual is beautiful in their own way, but often, as girls especially, we find ourselves nitpicking at every single flaw. Whether that be our physical appearance or our accomplishments. Personally, I find myself constantly comparing myself to other peers. It’s so hard and not ingrained in our culture to recognize our accomplishments and to actually be proud of ourselves. We are all so much more than just our physical appearances and we as individuals embody a multitude of achievements, personality traits, and characteristics we should boldly embrace. We’re all each doing so much as college students and it’s empowering to see how students on campus are all doing such amazing things. To be successful individuals, we need to start owning our actions and to be confident about ourselves. As women in the workforce where self-doubt can inevitably occur in a male dominated industry, we need to be confident in order to be heard. This can start with a small step that has been talked a lot about in recent times: self love.
This doesn’t just include the superficial sense of self-love, like exercising regularly and watching less TV. It’s time to start fully and wholly loving ourselves for who we are, from top to bottom, inside and out. To work toward loving myself to the point of waking up every morning with a heart overflowing with gratitude for the little and big things in life I was blessed with. To love myself unconditionally–quirks, flaws--even when it might be easier to nitpick at things I’m not content or fully satisfied with myself about. We should be fierce and unafraid to show it. If we can all become aware of the need to embrace ourselves as opposed to judging ourselves in comparison to others, women would be able to set an example for others to follow. A true leader is someone who can be confident and sure of their actions and decisions while also sticking true to themselves. Practicing self love leads creates a positive energy, and that’s what our society could really feed off more on to make it a more encompassing place for all individuals to thrive and be successful.
By: Crystal Tan