By Ava Dawson
Tell me what you love. If I stared you down, looked you in the eyes and asked you what you love, you’d say, “my brother, my sister, my boyfriend, my girlfriend, my dog, my family, drugs, the rain…” But how long would it take you, after going down that list, to say, “I love myself’’?
Most people go a lifetime, underestimating themselves, when they should be attempting the impossible. It may sound narcissistic, but in reality, liking yourself is more important than liking anyone else.
When I put on my pants in the morning, I’ll change three or four times. I know that other people don’t notice if my pants look too loose at the knees or my make-up is a bit off; my mom tells me that constantly. “You’re the only one that notices it.” But my opinion about myself matters most. If I don’t like myself, then how in the world can anybody else?
Self-hatred is a problem for everyone. It rules your relationships, your thoughts, the way you work. There is not a single person, not in this school, not in this world who is completely content and secure about themselves. You want to be someone else; you want to change your past and recreate your present. You want someone to like you or your grades to be better. You want to be as bad as Beyoncé. You always want better or something different; nothing’s ever good enough for humanity.
Among high school students, 44 percent of girls and 15 percent of boys are attempting to lose weight, according to www.dosomething.org. Over 70 percent of girls age 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel badly about their looks. If someone isn’t able to complete day-to-day activities because of their insecurities, then it’s a serious problem.
There isn’t a documented history of not liking who you are; it didn’t start in 1966 and congress didn’t try to pass a law against it in 1971. It’s different for everyone. It’s that at some point, you start to notice things about yourself that you don’t like or don’t understand. Or, maybe you didn’t notice them yourself, but some mindless individual pointed them out to you. and you’ve been insecure about it ever since. You can’t let it affect you, as impossible as it sounds. If we’re all trying to be someone else, then how will you ever know who you are? Give it a chance; maybe you’ll like yourself more than you think. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
