Dear Reader,
In my never-ending journey of self-love and my attempt to make others feel seen and loved, I want to share some words of wisdom. The world can feel pretty negative, isolating, and stressful, and we often strive for perfection. We never give ourselves enough credit, and we spend way too much time hating ourselves.

I’m writing this to tell you that you don’t have to be perfect. Humans are not meant to be robots; we are messy, imperfect, emotional, and complex. Try to be kind to yourself because you deserve it. You are worthy of love, respect, kindness, and forgiveness—from yourself and others. It takes a lot of effort and practice to change the way you think about yourself, but the more positive or sympathetic messages you tell yourself, the easier it is to block out the hatefu, deafening noise from school, social media, or your own head.

I’ve experienced lots of negative thought spirals, and even if I try to push them away by replacing the negatives with positive messages, sometimes the best thing to do is cry it out. I can’t expect myself to be confident all the time, but I don’t give up either. Doing the things that make me happy, like painting, watching movies, baking cookies, or dressing up for myself, brings me back to my happier, more peaceful place and reminds me to be kind to myself. After all, everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and gentleness.

Affirmations, journaling, and therapy have helped me get through the difficult days. With my perfectionism, I usually get disappointed with myself when I don’t meet my own high expectations. I wish I could be “better,” different, prettier, smarter, braver, and more confident. However, I try to realign this thinking by responding with acceptance and reassurance. I tell myself that even though I don’t always have my good days, that’s what makes me human. I want to experience the fullness of life with its highs and lows because I’d rather have my challenging emotions and complex problems than be happy 24/7.

Not everyone is a fan of affirmations, but they help me put more positive phrases at the forefront of my mind. I usually write them down in my journal or think about them when I need a reminder. Some of the ones I tell myself most often, and I want to share, are: you are kind, you are strong, you are brave, you are loved, you are unique, you are present, you are patient, you are inspiring, you are unstoppable, and you are here. You are where you’re supposed to be.

With sincere tenderness,
~Lizzy