Falling in love.

I came across a blog post yesterday that I loved.

The world is a confused place, if people are honestly criticizing her body immediately after having a baby. 

Society is out of check with reality. Tina Fey said it best:

"...every girl is expected to have: Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, and the arms of Michelle Obama."

With a standard like that being placed on every girl, it's nearly impossible to not compare yourself to others. 

I wish my hair was as pretty as her's, I wish I could pull off her outfit, I wish my eyes were her color of blue, I wish my legs were as long as hers...

The list goes on and on. 

We're so worried about what other girls think about us, and so concerned with making the boys fall in love with us that we forget to love ourselves first. 

One of my best friends would always tell me, "I love you, but I loved your confidence first." 

Don't get me wrong, I have just as many insecurities as the next girl. 

I refuse to leave the house without mascara on. 

My hair is naturally curly...and no one ever sees it. 

Pink washes me out like no other color on the planet. 

I can't wear some dresses because I just don't fill them out. 

Hats have never looked good on me. 

But, I've learned to be OK with all that. 

I'm perfectly comfortable with the person that I am, regardless of what the world says. 

One of my favorite quotes says, "You are not your bra size, nor are you the width of your waist, nor are you the slenderness of your calves. You are not your hair color, your skin color, nor are you a shade of lipstick. Your shoe-size is of no consequence. You are not defined by the amount of attention you get from males, females, or any combination thereof. You are not the number of sit-ups you can do, nor are you the number of calories in a day. You are not your mustache. You are not the hair on your legs. You are not a little red dress. You are no amalgam of these things. You are the content of your character. You are the ambitions that drive you. You are the goals that you set. You are the things that you laugh at and the words that you say. You are the thoughts you think and the things you wonder. You are beautiful and desirable not for the clique you attend, but for the spark of life within you that compels you to make your a full and meaningful one. You are beautiful not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the soul it carries." 

In a world where celebrities create our own self image, it's tough to be a girl. 

If we live by the world's standards, we will never be skinny enough, tall enough, blonde enough, or curvy enough. We'll never wear exactly the right clothes, or do our make up exactly like we're supposed to. 

Learn to love yourself, rather than the person you think you need to be. 

Enjoy your smile.

Be content with your dress size.

Learn to accept the reality of your eye color.

Fall in love with yourself, your body, and the person you're becoming.  

I think the most important thing a girl can do for herself is to care more about how she thinks of herself than she cares about how others think about her. 

Other people criticize us enough--we have to be our own biggest fans. 

"There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty."

 -Steve Maraboli