Every day, men and women alike are blasted with advertisements telling them that they are not good enough, not pretty enough, not skinny enough. While the specific number of how many advertisements an average human is exposed to per day is often argued, the fact remains that our heads are constantly being filled with useless propaganda that make people think they aren’t perfect the way they are.

I disagree, and I’m sick and tired of it.

Every single human being on this earth is unique in one way or another. We all have little attributes and skills that set us apart from another. While you may not be the prettiest girl in the world, or maybe not the valedictorian of your class, but you are special in one way or another. Maybe you’re an exceptional friend, or great at drawing, or a great listener. However silly and small these things might be, there are the things that set you apart, that make you special, that make you you.

You don’t need to be the prettiest girl on the earth. While it’s natural to want to look nice, you don’t need to constantly put yourself down because you don’t think you are beautiful. You don’t need to starve yourself to become skinnier; you don’t need to spend hours putting on make up in the morning; you don’t need to compare yourself to other girls. I have news for you: you are beautiful just the way you are.

I’m talking physically and emotionally. There is always going to be someone in your life who will look past your imperfections and your flaws and see you, the beautiful and amazing being that you are. They don’t care if your nose is too big, your eyes are too small. Those trivial and petty things don’t matter to them, they don’t matter to me.

Ever heard of the phrase beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Beauty is arbitrary. So who are you going to let define beauty? The media? The people who don’t know anything about you besides your outwards appearance? Or your friends and close family who know your weirdest quirks and your every flaw, yet find you more beautiful than the models in CoverGirl magazines. Beauty is so much more than the combination of hair, eyes, weight, skin, it’s time that you realize and accept that too.

I may not know you. I may have never met you or heard of you in my life, bu I think you are beautiful. So hold your head high, and give yourself the respect that you deserve. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.