“7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with family and friends.” – Real Girls, Real Pressure: National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, Dove Self-Esteem Fund

As we recently celebrated the universal day for “showing love” it got me thinking about the importance of also learning to love yourself. No, I’m not talking about the theme behind the new Justin Bieber song “Love Yourself”. I am not encouraging you to love yourself to the point of being conceited or thinking that you are better than anybody else, but it is extremely important to simply love yourself.

I know as a young pre-teen or teenager this is a very hard concept to grasp. You are going through different stages of maturity, you are dealing with different social environments, you want to do what it takes to be in the popular crowd, or you may be dealing with some form of bullying or pressure from others. Trust me, I get it. I was the biggest tomboy in my school growing up and I didn’t grow out of that until my junior year of high school so I experienced my share of awkwardness and embarrassment. I have the pictures to prove it! But I used being a good student and a good athlete to overcome some of the challenges I faced as a female who wasn’t really concerned with being cute or feminine.

So, take the time to acknowledge what it is that you love about yourself. This doesn’t mean that it has to be something physical, it can be a personality trait or a skill or talent that you possess. But write them down somewhere and remind yourself every day of how special and unique you are to be who you are. Embrace it, own it, and love it!