Embracing Your Insecurities: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think

By Tanya Yoder

Everyone has an image of themselves in their mind, but it might not be accurate to what their true appearance is. When that self-image is false, it can tear you apart. It causes questions and thoughts to orbit your mind: Why do I look like this? Is it bad that I don’t have a thigh gap? My stomach isn’t flat, is that okay? When did weight become so important? I wish my body looked different. I wish I looked different.

What some people have a hard time understanding is that you only get one body and one life. So, why waste your time hating the body you’ve been given? Or spending every waking moment trying to change it to be more socially acceptable?

We look at the people around us and compare. We compare ourselves to them, take what we see and turn it into something unhealthy for our minds: she seems skinnier than I do, I should cut back on the carbs; maybe if I’m thinner, he’ll like me; I get more compliments when I wear makeup, I should wear it more.

We spend so much time being afraid of the word fat. It’s looked at as an ugly thing, as an insult. Really, it’s simply just a word. It’s a word that is used to describe something that is a part of every person’s body. It is needed to survive. You don’t hear people whispering, That girl is drinking so much water, ew. Water is a natural thing we need to live, so naturally, we don’t question something like that. Why is fat so different from that? The answer is simple: it is something people can turn into an insecurity.

Oh, insecurities. Everyone has them. I like to think that some people are more skilled at hiding their insecurities. Some are more skilled at embracing them, which leads to the key word: CONFIDENCE. But it isn’t as easy as spelling it out, is it? If I’m being honest, I don’t know the first step to achieving full self-confidence. Mainly because I don’t achieve it often. Everyone has experienced it in some way, though, right? Everyone gets their breath of fresh air; the whole-audience-gets-chills movie moment. At least, I think everyone should get the chance to have that moment.

It’s up to the person to choose to take the step or not. It’s up to the person to step past their insecurities, the things people point out that aren’t meant to be pointed out and to get out of their own way.

Do you remember how easy it was when you were young? Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it’s always been a little harder for you. That’s okay. If you were somewhat like me, grade school was a time you wish that you could travel back to sometimes. It was a time in which you didn’t mind the thoughts of others. When you flash forward to where you are now, you wish you still had some of that little kid feeling.

Self-love as a kid. You didn’t really think about it, you just did. You were who you were, and you had fun. When did it change? How old were you when you started to think about it?

Do you love yourself as much as you love your best friend? If so, I am so happy for you. I truly am. That is something that is hard to achieve. In my mind, anyway. Some days it’s so much harder. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if you could just take a shortcut to get to the point you want to get to?

But, I think, that’s sort of the beauty of it. When you do get to that point, the point where you love you for yourself, you move past caring about others’ opinions, and you can just be. It’s because you worked hard to get there and pushed through the struggles of it.

There is always going to be something or someone trying to hold you back or push you down. The only thing you can do is learn to accept that fact and live your life.