You’re worth more than you think you are. It’s true. It seems as view of who life goes on, more and more people I encounter have a messed up view of who they are. Not to say people are worth physical objects, but if you were, you might see yourself as coal while you’re really worth gold. Does this come from society telling us we are suppose to look like this model or act like America’s newest ‘sweetheart’? Does it come from the nurturing stages of our human existence? The latter doesn’t seem as likely due to the large amount of girls I have met with the same problem but with completely different upbringings. So the question remains, where does this lack of self worth come from?
I personally struggled with this for a majority of my life, I still struggle with it now. Maybe this is something I will always be struggling to accept, but I am slowly starting to realize that a lot of people have a very low value for their self worth. For example, my mother asked to show my boyfriend a picture of me during my freshman year of High School and I immediately refused. I believed I looked too “ugly” for me to show this to a guy that knows me for what I look like now. But that’s just the thing, why is my self worth measured by other people’s opinions of me? That really takes the ‘self’ part out of the word.
Looking back on it now, there have been plenty of instances where I correlated self worth with societal beauty. We are constantly worried if we look good enough for a person, and are convinced that us looking good is what makes people like us. I admit that personal appeal is okay, liking to look a certain way is alright. However it also makes me question if certain “flaws” I found in myself were seen as such due to society. If the gap between my two front teeth would have been a proud staple of my personality if it was seen as the newest trend?
Self worth should be based on yourself, and yet we continue to measure it through others’ opinions. This needs to stop, because when you have low self worth it opens the doors for others to take advantage of this. You should know that you deserve those flowers on Valentine’s day, or the compliment you get from a friend. Don’t deny a compliment by downplaying it, instead accept it as what it is- a compliment. Basically, be okay with who you are. It will definitely change your perspective on things!
The Lemon Tree 