When you look into a mirror, what do you see? Is the person looking back at you the most beautiful person in the world, or are you picking out every single one of your reflection’s imperfections? Are you happy with who you are, or are you working on getting to be what you want to be?

(Is what you want to be realistic?)

It’s kind of sad what kind of image the media sends in regards to body image. For young women, in particular, there’s a pressure to look a specific way. I’m not sure what exactly shifted, but if you look at the progression of the “ideal woman” throughout time, it’s definitely interesting. Once upon a time, having more weight meant you were more upper class.

Not so much anymore.

I’m not overweight, I’m probably at a pretty healthy size for my height and age. And yet, most days, I feel like a gigantic hippo. I look at myself in the mirror, and all I can see is a round face and a muffin top. If I went on a very rigid diet of salads and no sweets (and watch the salt please and thanks), I may lose one or two pounds. But the moment I eat a donut, I’m gaining those (and more) pounds back.

And yet society throws such delicious foods in my face. It’s pretty hard to avoid donuts, ice cream, pastries, cakes… (what was I talking about…?) and while they are great in moderation, it’s really hard to just stop at one. It’s a pretty confusing message, really. Don’t eat, because you’ll get fat (and nobody likes fat) but, look at all this delicious food; why aren’t you eating?

It’s a funny and a little strange that when my beautiful friends look at themselves and comment on how they’re unhappy with themselves, I disagree. “Shush you, you look absolutely gorgeous.” And I mean every word of it. But when it’s my turn to look into the mirror, often times, those words don’t resonate with me.

It’s less about hitting the gym every single day and eating only salads, and more about changing the way we think. It’s about looking in the mirror every day, really looking, and telling yourself, “hey girl, you’re looking pretty fly today.” Because you are. It’s about feeling confident about yourself every day. And not comparing yourself to others, because hey, if we all looked alike, that’d be pretty boring.

I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working towards it. Until I get there, I’ll just stand in front of the mirror every day and tell myself, “you look beautiful today.” Hopefully one day I will believe me.

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