Say I’m out of touch if you will, but I had never heard “Who You Are” by Jessie J before:

“I stare at my reflection in the mirror:
‘Why am I doing this to myself?’
Losing my mind on a tiny error,
I nearly left the real me on the shelf.”

That intro, though. Right?!

In middle school, I was guilty of the same awkward phase as everyone else — not knowing what to wear, how to put makeup on, strange body changes (ok, this is probably the only thing I am not guilty of because Lord knows I had my 12-year-old body for FAR too long). But I, probably just as everyone else, didn’t feel like I fit in, and I really really really didn’t like myself or my image much at all.

Then high school comes along, and there are all these girls with curves to their body, long blonde hair, and makeup galore. Yet, here I am, 90 lbs, not a single curve on this canvas, and still very unsure of what to do with my hair. (P.S. Ladies, if you were going to mature… you could have at least given me the memo).

Fast forward to college, and I think I am starting to understand who I am a little more, feeling a little more confident. Funny how guys paying more attention to you can do that… but that was the worst part: I only felt it when someone acknowledged it.

Today —  I made 2016 the Year of Facing Fears. I didn’t write anything down that I wanted to overcome necessarily. I just wanted it to be a year I wouldn’t say no just because I was afraid to fail. And my #1 Goal was to be in the best shape of my life AND, more importantly, to feel the best I ever have. I can say, I am 27, and I have never believed in myself more or felt more confident in who I am. I just wish I could go back and tell my younger selves: STOP hating yourself for everything you aren’t and START loving yourself for everything you are.

And THAT brings me back to the lyrics of this song. Those of us who are so used to critiquing every inch of us: STOP! “Seeing is deceiving.”