The Online Newspaper of Lakewood High School

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Individuality: Learning to Love Yourself

    Individuality%3A+Learning+to+Love+Yourself

    This is the time in life we figure out who we are and discover our identity.

    We all know that life can be challenging. In today’s world, being a part of the youth comes with so many obstacles and conflicts. We are transitioning from children to adults and we have to find ourselves on our own. There’s a battle between our inner self and who we want to be. Personally, I’ve struggled to understand myself and my emotions. I know I’m not alone in this. As teenagers, we are full of feelings and thoughts that we have translate and contain.

    It can be so hard to find confidence within yourself and feel powerful and strong. At this time in life it can be so easy to slip into negativity and feel overwhelmed by school, home life, social life, personal conflicts etc. It isn’t talked about enough. It can be so easy to collapse into insecurity and let stress overwhelm you. It’s such an accomplishment to make it over hurdles and often times, this goes unrecognized. So let me just say, I’m proud of your strength and all the hard work you put in. You’re not alone.

    Learning to love yourself as a young adult is so important. We are taught in school how to treat others, how to be kind to others, respect others, be a friend… but how do we learn to be kind to ourselves? Respect and care about ourselves? We don’t. It’s all up to us to discover peace and love within ourselves.

    I want to share how I’ve discovered myself and my confidence as well as tips from other resources: One thing that helped me a lot was making time to do what I love to do, which is singing and writing. Making time for activities you personally enjoy like dancing, drawing, or even just taking walks can help improve your peace. Making a mental list of things you are proud of yourself for and always reminding yourself of it, will help you recognize your worth and appreciate what you’ve done. This can help you every time you feel discouraged, to just relax and think about what areas you are successful in. Another thing that can aid in loving yourself is connecting with others; whether it’s friends or family, no one is alone and sharing conflicts can be a good way to connect and bond, as well as understanding that nobody is 100% perfect. Keeping a positive perspective, accepting your feelings without judging them, accepting others, not comparing yourself to others, and being your true self are key steps into being content with yourself and maintaining tranquility. Keep positive thoughts in your head daily and try to open up your perspective while pushing negative thoughts out.

    “The only way you will be able to love yourself is to accept the experiences that have shaped you” (Maryssa Davis). Acknowledging that nobody is perfect, and you should not hold yourself to that standard is something everyone should take in. Everyone goes through rough times and every human makes mistakes… learn to accept your life for what it is and learn to forgive yourself. Sometimes the things we go through help our mindset blossom into its fullest potential.

    Remember, love yourself always and be your #1 supporter. After all, if you don’t do it, nobody will. Don’t forget to keep your head up and preserve your harmony. Hopefully, if you haven’t found your self-love, you take these tips into account and strive to work on it everyday.

    More to Discover