Hey guys!

Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but love is still in the air. Not only love for your significant other, but love for family, friends, and yourself. It’s important for people to take the time to learn to love yourself. I’ve slowly learned how to love myself through the years. Yes, I may be “too young” to know what’s right for me, but I do know what makes me happy and how I want to live my life while also taking care of myself. But I’m not here to talk about teenage angst. 

Loving oneself is one of the most important things in life because if you can love yourself, how will you love your life, your family, or your job if you can’t enjoy being yourself? So here’s what I do to make sure I always know to love myself. 

Even if you don’t agree with someone’s opinion, fashion sense, or choice of friends, respect their decision to think or be that way. Understand where they’re coming from and realize that everyone has different views of something and not everyone will agree with you. Respect them for sharing their opinion with you and keep respecting them if you don’t agree because if everyone had the same opinion what kind of world would we be in? There would be no new artists, movies, etc., because everyone would want the same thing. So respect people’s opinion.

Respect yourself when you make a mistake because at least you know you’re trying. Respect yourself no matter if you dress or act differently from others because you’re just being you. 

This is not Fifty Shades of Grey where Ana doesn’t know her boundaries and gets hurts from her mistakes. Know what you’re willing to do in certain situations and make sure your not overstepping them. I don’t mean to not try out new things, I mean don’t try new things if you’re uncomfortable with them. As in, you’re going to burst into tears at the thought of doing something so out of your comfort zone that you don’t even want to get up crying. Don’t push yourself. Just follow your boundaries and one day you’ll be able to try new things without feeling like you’ll die trying to do it. 

SAY WHAT YOU REALLY MEAN 

But not at the expense of others. Don’t say something that you don’t mean unless there’s a surprise involved. Like cake. Then it’s okay to lie. But always, always, mean what you say. Say yes when you want to say yes. Say no when you want to say no. Remember that you can’t please everyone and it feels a lot better to do what you want to do instead of following someone else’s lead. Unless that’s your job. Then it’s okay to do that. But for everyday life, don’t play guessing games. Just say yes. Say no. If the person can’t handle it, then are they really helping with your growth and development? 

And an all around great person. As long as you try your best everyday, life won’t be too hard. Remember that you were made for a reason and you may not find that reason until it hits you on the head one day. Don’t let what other say about you affect you dramatically. If it’s constructive criticism, reflect on it, adjust accordingly, then move on. But if it’s hate or just plain rudeness, forget about it. There are some people in life who’s purpose is to put down others and you should not only ignore them, you should treat then kindly. Because they might never have had kindness in their life before. Kill them with your kindness. You’re beautiful, amazing, strong, independent, should I go on?

So love yourself darling. Loving yourself is one of the greatest gifts you’ll ever give yourself.