Loving yourself through the age of Media

            

   “You can’t hate yourself in a version that you love.”- Lori Deschene

I once read this beautiful quote online, and ever since then, it has stayed with me. In this day and age of technology, where we are constantly exposed to all sorts of unrealistic and oppressive beauty standards, we tend to get caught up in this atmosphere of toxicity and start self-loathing, resulting in the loss of our self-esteem. 

Everyone has fallen prey to these unrealistic standards, it can look like someone pointing out your scars or telling you that you’d look better if you lost some weight. The sad truth is that these toxic standards, fat-shaming, and demeaning comments have been normalized by many, which makes it harder for any individual to be comfortable in their own skin and body. 

 So how do we keep loving ourselves through these standards?

I personally learnt it after a long process of trial and error, but you need not always go through something to learn about it. 

Self Love isn’t just about exercising or taking care of your body physically, it’s also about staying true and respecting your needs enough to not put yourself through unnecessary emotional stress.

Sometimes we get so lost in the act of seeking validation from others that we forget to love and respect ourselves.

I kept comparing myself to these impossible standards of beauty, set by vicious media, and ended up in a never-ending cycle of self-loathing and low self-esteem.

If you try to keep meeting these harmful standards you will end up hating yourself simply because you don’t fit the “ideal beauty”. Wanting to change aspects of yourself is human- it’s how we improve and evolve- but we need to ask ourselves why. And the answer should always be, to make yourself happy. Surround yourself with people who care about you and not about the size of your waist or the brand of your lipstick. I began with being kind to myself and stopped being my worst critic. Treat yourself exactly the way you would treat someone you love.

Each individual is as unique as their fingerprints, acknowledge your uniqueness and see the beauty in it. Don’t beat yourself up for making mistakes, take it one day at a time. People will judge you for a while and move on to someone else, not everyone will like what or who you are, so don’t wait on the validation of others. It is impossible to achieve. I used to constantly hear taunts under the name of suggestions from my relatives or even from a few fellow college mates as to how “textured” my skin was or how “frizzy” my hair looked on a certain day. The only ideals you should follow are the ones that you've set for yourself- the ones that make you happy, I say this because when you like who you are and where you’re going, what others think of you will hardly matter. Value your body regardless of what others or even you think because this is what is making you thrive. It might get really overwhelming, at times, but don’t let the size of your waist or the acne on your face define who you are and what you’re capable of, the world is full of opportunities.