When I was nine, my ten year old cousin sent me a card saying "friends come in all shapes and sizes, but my best friend comes in only one shape and size:yours"
The thing is though, it wasn't my birthday, it wasn't new years, I wasn't ill, and it definitely wasn't Christmas. So why did she send me the bloomin' card ?
Well, it wasn't until I grew up a little, that I realised she did this out of the good of her own heart- no personal gains what so ever. It was then that I realised I was one hell of a lucky girl- everyone needs a cousin/friend/dog to remind them how great they are from time to time, because the ugly truth is that everyone can feel under the weather every once in a while.
Take me for instance: a couple of days ago, I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, sulking at my lack of curves, my lack of thigh gap, and my lack of, well, body confidence. And trust me when I tell you, I spent an ashamedly large amount of time in a hole of my own self pity, before realising that this was just not worth it.
I want to tell you now, girls and boys of the internet, you are beautiful.
It may not feel like it on certain days, and that's okay. You may also not be completely happy with your body, and that's okay too. It takes time to accept yourself. And, if you want to lose weight or whatever, that's cool, but just make sure you don't beat yourself up about this whenever you start to feel fat or ugly.
Loads of teenagers/adolescents/human beings feel just like this, and in an odd way, that's sort of reassuring: at least we're not alone.
I realise now that beauty doesn't necessarily mean being a size six runway model- though it can be- just like it can mean being a size 12, 16, or 20 model.
I realise this eight years after getting that card, even though the truth was staring at me in the face this entire time.
"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."
Starting off a blog post with a quote, is probably one of the top ten most cliché things to do on this planet. That, and taking pictures of your food (especially a Starbucks). So, for that I apologise profusely.
Anyway, in light of this quote, I wanted to talk to you about the very important matter of positivity.
What is that, you say?
Well, probably since I was able to talk, I could confidently tell you that the glass was always going to be half empty. Which ultimately meant that as I was growing up, I couldn't help but look at the things a little negatively.
This wasn't the easiest thing to deal with, as I was always putting way too much pressure on myself, and whatever I did, never seemed to be good enough.
Now this kind of attitude, when taken in small doses, can be healthy; it shows you want to strive for more. However, when you're stuck with it 24/7, it drains the world of its colour, and suddenly you're left living in black and white.
I wanted this to change, so I opened up my windows and let some light in (cheesy level:off the charts).
Every night, before going to bed, just remind yourself of three good things that happened today. Be it, someone giving you a compliment, or ticking something of you to do list, or even eating your favorite food.
I try to do this, and stick with it, because it really does put a (sometimes massive, toothy) grin on my face. Also, if anything, I've learned to appreciate the little things in life; they've shown me that even on the worst of days, there's always going to be something positive to smile about (queue the "aaawws").
So, this brings me back to my quote: yesterday, for me symbolises all the troubles of my past-which I don't need to meddle with anymore. Tomorrow, I need to look at with a clear mind. Tomorrow, I'm going to appreciate the little things people do for me. Tomorrow, I'm going to try my hardest not to put too much pressure on myself. Tomorrow, I'm going to be more positive. Tomorrow, I'm going to win.
Okay, now that I'm done being a soppy git, I just wanted to let you know that, sometimes life doesn't make being positive easy. Trust me, I get that.
But, I'm not asking you to run around, singing about how much you love life (that would be funny to see though). I'm just asking you breathe, and know that everything will be okay, because "if it's not okay, then it's not the end" (two quotes in one post, I'm the epitome of being cliché).
