Love Yourself

I believe the most important you can possess as a human being is self-love. Not self-respect, and not quite a narcissistic view. But a happy medium is what everyone truly needs. When growing up, going through middle & high school I was nowhere near the coolest kid. To be quite frank with you, I had no friends at one point. I took shy to a whole other level; I totally shut myself out. Why? Quite simply, fear of being judged. I was never one who wanted to be the center of attention so I decided to shut out all attention. The only friends I had were a grade below me or younger, who were also nerds. I got bullied(not physically), I was an outcast, I walked a lonely walk home, however, I wouldn’t take any of it back. This all gave me a chance to discover myself. I eventually surrounded myself with those who had similar interests and found who I was. It took time for me to realize that my personality didn’t directly correlate with the materialistic, judgemental, dull people who populated the hallways of my high school. There were a few exceptions of course, and that’s where I eventually fit in. By societal standards I was far from “normal”. I never become the fully social person I am today until after high school. Starting conversations can still be difficult, but I have made major strides. My point is, before you can love anyone or anything else, you must love yourself. Find who you are, what you are, what you want and how you carry yourself. Don’t let others get to you, be thick skinned. No amount of insults or harassments should be able to damage you, you’re better than that. Stay strong, there’s always a brighter side. Stay strong, stay vigilant. Stay weird.