This is another old journal entry that I found and felt the urge to share. Please forgive the mistakes, I felt like staying true to the authenticity of the words I felt in that moment.

Is there such a spectacular human experience as falling in love with yourself? After years of despising myself, years of self-doubt and self-destructive behaviour. To finally look in the mirror and accept what you see. And to not only accept but to embrace. To love. To look at yourself in the mirror and smile genuinely, because you know that everything will be okay. That everything will be okay. That everything already is okay. Because you have yourself, and you will always have yourself.

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls and we may feel as though we've lost ourselves. We may feel that we will never again find ourselves, but our true essence never fully disappears.

As life goes on we might change, we might cut our hair, change our job and learn from our mistakes. But we will never lose the essence of our soul. That one characteristic that you may not even know you have, that separate us from the billions of unique individuals on earth, will always remain. Find that characteristic. Find THOSE characteristics. That is the way to truly understand who you are. It is the way to truly come to love yourself. Embrace those strenghts. Acknowledge them. Scream them at the top of your lungs if you must.

We have a tendency to focus on our mistakes, to dwell on the negative. In the midst of all our strengths we have tendency to focus solely on our lesser weaknesses. I promise someday it will come naturally. Fake it till you make it. We are human. Humans make mistakes. You are not meant to be perfect. A mistake does not make you incompetent. It makes you human. Though we must acknowledge the presence of a mistake to learn not to dwell on them. Rectify them. Vow to do better in the future. But remember who you are. Remember the goodness in your heart. Good people make mistakes. It does not make them any less good. Good people learn from their mistakes.

I think my biggest mistake to this date, is the way I've long treated myself. The way I've hated myself. Put myself down for every minuscule thing. Why have I been so hard on myself?

I am compassionate. I am kind. I am intelligent in my own way. I might lack common sense. I might have an awful sense of direction. But that is who I am. They are my own unique quirks. I do my best. That's all that matters. What ought I be embarassed of? What more than my best could one ask for?

And so now I laugh. I embrace the ridiculous statements that slip my lips. They make me, ME. And no one else can be me. I'm awkward. I can be shy. I don't always say the right thing. But that's okay. I am a working progress.

I'm down to earth. I'm both attentive and seemingly lost in my mind. I am creative. I'm passionate. I look on the bright side. I'm positive. I'm caring. I'm trusting. I am beautiful inside and out. I love myself and this life in which I've been blessed.

Saying these things in the past, I would have thought myself conceited. I would have thought these feelings impossible. But they are very much possible, and very much not conceited.

I am accepting my truest self. Like a caterpillar blossoming into a butterfly. Maybe this butterfly has a broken wing. Maybe it's uneven or doesn't know how to fly. But the butterfly has come such a long way from its coccoon. I have come a long way.

I started really looking at myself in the mirror, and I challenge you to do the same. Don't look at your reflection just to analyze your physical attributes. Look at yourself in the eyes, like you would when holding a conversation with someone. Try to look past your physical shell, and witness the essence behind simple empotions, like you would when trying to understand a stranger's vibe. It will feel silly, but take the time to meet yourself for the first time.