“When you’re injecting your lips with fillers because society told you fuller lips are prettier than thin lips, I also hope you’re injecting your mouth with pretty words that remind you to be nice to yourself.
When you’re implanting your boobs with fake ones because society told you bigger boobs are better than smaller ones, I hope you’re implanting yourself with the baddest confidence you will ever know.
When you’re lifting your legs endlessly to lift your butt because society told you a lifted butt is better than a flat one, I hope you’re doing more reps to lift your spirit in between.
When you’re cutting carbs like the plague, I also hope you’re cutting self-hatred and the belief that a body with weight on it doesn’t have a place in this world.
When you’re popping diet pills to rev up your metabolism, I also hope you’re ingesting self-worth to rev up your current value. The value will skyrocket… if you ingest it with the right things.
When you’re having the surgeon trim your nose because society told you it was too big, I also hope you’re having the therapist show you how to trim a few inches off of your doubt and distortion.
When you’re counting calories, points, macronutrients and carbs, I also hope you’re counting all the ways you would still matter if you never counted a thing.
When you’re looking at your friend and wishing you had her body or face, I also hope you’re looking at yourself and knowing how many people see the beauty you’re blinded to.
When you’re looking in the magazine and wondering what it is like to have legs like that or abs like that, I hope you realize you were never up for comparison.
You can’t be uniquely you if you go through your whole life with a side-by-side view of you and the world. It wasn’t meant to be that way. It was just meant to be you, all you.
When you’re telling yourself he’ll love you when you lose weight or if your boobs were bigger, know he never loved you. Because people who need a body part to change in order to love someone also need their own body parts to change in order to love themselves. Choose people who love themselves, first.
When you falsely believe everything in your life will be better if you could just become a different size, know it is a lie. Take it from me. I’ve worn a size small and I’ve worn a 3X.
I still knew sadness when I wore a size small. I still lacked confidence when I wore a size small. I still thought my body wasn’t enough when I wore a size small.
I still had people tell me my body wasn’t enough when I wore a size small. Men still broke my heart when I wore a size small.
Life didn’t turn into rainbows, gold, and magical kingdoms all because I wore a size small and people told me I was pretty. Promise.
Your size, looks, and worth will never be found in the same place.
Waiting on life to get better when your size and looks change only means you gave up on life. Confidence can be found at your largest size (or any size), if you surround yourself with the right people and fill yourself with the right thoughts. Confidence can be found with the lips and eyes you already have.
Before you manipulate your body or manipulate your natural beauty, manipulate the you on the inside that thinks you need manipulating in the first place. You may have a lot less work ahead of you than you think.
And when you don’t know where to start, just know looks will never be how you figure out where.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Felicia Naoum and originally appeared here. You can follow their journey on Facebook. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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