I believe

I believe that one thing that most girls do not do these days is appreciate themselves. Society places so much emphasis on being beautiful and skinny and appealing to guys. The society that we live in puts a lot of pressure on girls to be what we view as sexy. Most teenage girls feel that they need to make themselves appealing to men. Girls are brought up with this idea that they need to always be good looking to others. We try so hard to please guys, and look good for other people, that we do not appreciate ourselves for who we are at all. Sometimes, we can’t see our true beauty because we feel like we are never going to be good enough no matter what we do. I believe that if you can appreciate yourself, than it will be easier for others to appreciate you.
I used to feel like I always needed to try so hard to impress guys. I had to wear makeup to look good and stay thin so that I would be appealing to guys. I couldn’t really appreciate the person that I was because I worried too much about trying to impress others. If a guy did not like me, I felt terrible. I felt like I needed to try harder to make them like me. Of course all girls want to look good and be appealing to others, but that is not all that matters. What matters the most is what you think of yourself. If you want to lose weight, lose it so that you feel good about yourself, not so that you will be appealing to others. Dress in a way that you feel you look nice. If you want somebody to appreciate the person that you really are, you need to have confidence in being yourself. You need to have an understanding of who you are. Know your beliefs and your morals. If you know who you are, and you appreciate yourself just the way you are, then others will be more likely to appreciate you for who you are.
I never fully understood this until I met my boyfriend Dylan. He is the first guy I met who really makes me feel like I do not have to try to impress him. I showed up on our first date with the goal of just being myself, and trying to be confident in myself. I was not going to try hard to make him like me. I thought, “I am a nice, fun girl, and if he doesn’t like me the way that I am, then he is not worth it.” It turned out, he liked me a lot when I was just being myself. I did not have to try at all to be someone I am not, we just had a great time together. I appreciated, and had confidence in just being myself, and in return, Dylan appreciated me for who I truly was. Just recently, Dylan said something to me that really made me realize that we don’t always have to try hard to make others appreciate us. He came over when I was helping my mom clean. I was just a mess. I hadn’t even showered, my hair was gross, I had no makeup on, and I was in sweatpants and a t-shirt. That night, he told me that I was so beautiful. I felt amazing when he said that to me. I was not trying in anyway to look good for him, but I was still beautiful to him.
No matter how hard you try to impress somebody, if you cannot appreciate yourself just the way that you are, it is going to be hard for others to appreciate you and respect you the way that you are. To appreciate yourself, you need to have confidence in being yourself. You need to know who you are, know your morals, your beliefs and your values. If you know who you are, and you can be confident in being that person, then others will appreciate you just the same.