The Art Of Not Being Good Enough

Image: Teen Vogue

Being imperfect sucks.

I don't know about you but I've compared myself  to many other people- including friends, models, and  friends who are models. I obviously come out disappointed. There are so many reasons to why these people can make me feel this way: she's thinner, she's richer, her hair is nicer, she can draw, she dresses really nice... but I'm sure that I'm not alone.

I honestly have no idea why so many of us feel like this, it's just as if our brains are pre-programmed to dislike themselves. More like brainwashed, because if it wasn't for all these photos of perfect girls and depressing self-hate quotes, I'm sure that we'd be much happier.

Which leads me to something else: are these models/idols/other perfect people all we make them out to be? I was watching this video the other day, and I think that you should too, because this girl is onto something. What we see in magazines, in videos, in photos, in all the people better than us isn't the whole truth. If we abide by the general rule that everybody sees themselves in a less bright light than we should, then maybe these people don't feel as perfect as we like to think they are. Like Cameron says in the video, models, must be really insecure: they have to look perfect everyday. And I'm sure that Emma Watson has had her insecurities too.

We need to see ourselves as the beautiful, majestic creatures that we really are. We might not afford everything, we might not be smart enough, and we might not like the way we look, but we are good at other things, special things that make us damn unique and SPECIAL. These things are there to be appreciated, just like you are, but if they are kept covered by our insecurities and our constant wanting to be someone else, then they're just going to be pushed away. I know that it's easier said than done- I wish I was this confident in real life and not just while preaching, but hey, baby steps.

I'm guessing that a fundamental part in this whole 'give me a reason to celebrate myself' thing is being ourselves, which is just why we should try to discover and embrace our quirks and talents. And here's a tip: not the whole world needs to know! Actually, no one does. I've kept this blog a secret, simply because I want it to be a creative outlet all for myself, where I can be my own judge. If you want to attend a karate lesson but are too embarrassed, do so anyway! You should not be obliged or pressured to say anything about it- if you're comfortable with keeping something that does you good to yourself, there's no rule saying that other people should be in on it too.

The word which sums all this up is confidence, partly for showing the world who we are and mostly for being proud of ourselves. And we need oodles of it, enough to last us ages of being happy, and of not caring what everyone else thinks, because being ourselves is the greatest thing ever, and frankly, we're enjoying it way too much to care about what everyone else thinks.