By: Nada el Nady
How many times have you been told that you aren’t good enough? How many times have you been compared to others and told that you are not beautiful? How many times have you been convinced that you are a worthless being who doesn’t deserve to live? How many times have you thought about giving up your life, thinking that when you stare at your reflection in the shining blade you’re gripping between your fingers, you’ll see yourself happy for the first time? Countless times. If you start to count all the times in which your worth has been undermined or your beauty has been underestimated or your actions and personality have been compared to that of others, you might spend your whole life doing just that, counting, listing off all the moments when you were forced to feel hurt and broken, when your heart was stepped upon, and when its pieces was being scattered all over the place. The reason though? Simply, when you tried seeking love, appreciation, and attention from others, all what you were met with was straightforward rejection.
So, if that was the inevitable outcome of all your previously failed attempts to seek appreciation from those who don’t understand your true worth, why try again? Why not satisfy yourself with love that you receive from those who actually care about you, those who always wish the best for you, and those who would sail the world to save you from drowning, starting with your family, and if not, your closest friends? If no one is willing to make you feel better about yourself, why not make that change yourself? Why does praising and appreciating our own qualities feel alien to you? Why don’t you love the person you see every day in the mirror in front of you, the one who has went through hell and back but is still willing to stand and try again?
Start with yourself. Love every single curve in your body: every dimple, every freckle, every highlight, all the smallest details that make you who you are, and that add to your beauty in their perfectly, unique way. Cherish your own personality, for it is what makes you special, makes you different, and what shapes your identity and builds your self-confidence. God has created no flawless being, but your flaws are what make you flawless. Appreciate your strengths, and don’t feel ashamed of your weaknesses, for what are human beings without weaknesses? Admire your inner and outer beauty: your pure heart, your kind soul, your striking smile, and every other single apparent and abstract feature of yours.
You are beautiful, you always were, always are, and always will be, and no person whoever he or she is can change that. And at the end of the story, I’d like to tell you, love yourself for who you are, treasure the person who you have grown to become, and embrace the fate you are bound to endure. You shall always remember that no one is perfect, only god is, but when it comes to you, you’re imperfectly perfect in your own, perfect way.
