Floating on Daydreams

For you

You're beautiful.

Hello. If you're insecure, please take the time to read this. 

I'm just like you. I'm always worrying about other people's perceptions of me, always thinking that I'm disappointing them. I feel inadequate all the time. I feel like if I disappeared off the face of the earth, no one would care. I hide my flaws, like everybody else does.

Recently, I found out that one of my classmates wasn't as confident as he seemed. At first, I didn't understand it, because he's an insanely good singer, he writes beautifully, he's charismatic, he gets straight As, and he's pretty good looking. But when I spoke to him, it became very clear to me that he doesn't see himself the way I see him. He thinks that he's not good enough. Just like me.

We live in a world where people are forever pretending to be someone they're not because they're afraid to be vulnerable and let themselves love themselves just the way they are. We live in a world where everyone's afraid of not being good enough. Everyone. Some people are just better at hiding it than others. You know how we're always told to 'embrace our flaws'? That's way easier said than done. We're told to be ourselves all the time, to be confident. But how do we do that if we're afraid of being ridiculed for being different?

So how do we deal with insecurity? If I'm being honest, I really don't have an answer. That feeling of inadequacy that we harbor, it's there because we're human. If you feel more insecure than others, it's very likely that you set very high standards for yourself, and you beat yourself up if you don't meet them. I know I do. If you're insecure because someone else says that you aren't good enough, then you probably end up worrying about that so much that you screw up and hate yourself for it. We're teenagers. People expect us to screw up once in a while. It's not possible to be good at everything.

Making mistakes should help you improve rather than drag you down. But you know what? It doesn't. It eats away at your conscience, it makes you doubt yourself and it makes you feel like everyone is going to hate you forever. But I promise you that that's not true. Sure, they might get upset, and they might yell at you, and they might be mad at you. But that doesn't last, unless you make it. You can always fix things, no matter how badly you mess up. Prove to everybody that you've learned something from that bad experience.

If you're insecure about your appearance, then I have three words to say to you. You are beautiful. I know you don't believe me, but hear me out. The level of attraction from one human towards another is subjective. Maybe you don't have features that are conventionally considered perfect. Maybe your eyes are too close together, or maybe you're don't have the 5'10, model-type body that everyone wants. Maybe your teeth are crooked, or you don't have bulky muscles that make you look like Bruce Willis. So what? Honestly, so what? There will always be someone who thinks you're wonderful. I personally think that appearance is overrated. Your appearance may be the thing that grabs a person's attention, but it sure as hell won't keep it. Your personality, on the other hand, is your best feature. So show it off. Don't be afraid. Passion is so much more attractive than a straight nose and silky hair. 

If you're insecure about your talent, then you should know that your insecurity is going to stop you from being the best you can. People will talk, and they may not say the nicest things, but you can't let that get to you. Everyone has a talent. It could be singing, or playing an instrument, or writing, or ice-skating, or making perfect snow-angels, or something else. I don't care what you think, I know for a fact that you are talented and there is something you love so much that it's all you ever want to do. So go after it. Get better at it. If you love singing, but you can't hit a note just right, and someone tells you that you're bad, learn to hit that note just to prove them wrong. No goal is unattainable if you work hard enough. You're talented. Don't let anything anyone says make you think you're not. 

So you cry easily. That just means you're more sensitive than other people, and that's a good thing, not a bad one. It's likely that you laugh easily, and when you smile, you are genuinely happy. You probably care more about your friends and family than people can fathom.

No one deserves to be hated because of their flaws. Would you hate someone just because they don't dance well, or because they have big ears or a speech disorder? No. So then why do you hate yourself? You don't deserve that, no matter how much you think you do. So put down the blade, stop overthinking things, stop hiding yourself away. Let yourself shine. Don't think you aren't good enough, because you are. Let yourself be sensitive and vulnerable and caring. You're not flawless, but you're perfect. No one can be you better than you. So take that leap of faith. Who knows? You might learn to fly.