Someday, somehow, I want to learn to love myself. I know that deep down I have the ability to do it. I am no stranger to love, I have been known to fall fast and to fall hard. I am consumed by my love for others, my desire to make them happy, to put a smile on their face, and make them see how wonderful they are. All this emotion and passion I contain, but not once have I fallen in love with myself. Sixteen years I’ve been alive, one hundred and ninety-eight months, eight hundred sixty-two weeks, and six thousand and thirty-five days. All this time I’ve been alive, and not a second of it has been spent loving myself. I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to save everyone, and I never gave my own needs a second thought. Until she said to me, “The only way you can save me is if you save yourself.” I need to begin to fight for myself, to battle against the contempt and disgust which I have harbored. This one-sided battle has gone on long enough, and now I know how desperately I need saving, and all I can do is to hope that it’s not too late.

I am going to learn to love myself.

I will love myself for and despite my flaws and imperfections.
I will find acceptance in my self-inflicted scars
and I will be sure not to add to their numbers.
I will find beauty in the curve of my hips
and in the soft flesh which spills across my waist.

I am going to learn to love myself.

I will find positivity in my mind and light in my dark soul.
I will find compassion in my heart
and direct it towards myself.
I will find value in my life
and be unable to count the many reasons to continue it

I am going to learn to love myself.

I will find a reason to smile at my reflection.
I will find confidence in my smile
and wear it as more than a mask.
I will find comfort in my appearance
this is who I am, and I am beautiful.

I am going to fall in love with myself.