Lift Up Your Hands

i love myself fiercely. I am strong and passionate. I am witty and kind. I love the way my hair wisps into my face and my eyes crinkle up when I smile. I love how there is no force in the world that can get in between me and my dreams. i love my authenticity and honesty. i that i am me. 

I know what i am worth. I know that i deserve love. i know that i am a valuable friend and a nice person to have around in good times and bad. i do my very best to be the best person i can be, and i love myself for it. 

some people want me to change. they think i am cocky and arrogant and entitled. they think my love for myself impairs my ability to love others. they think i am too concerned with myself to pay attention at anything else. 

in the world that i live in - high school suburbia - a girls love for herself = inability to care about others. that is such a toxic mindset. none of the girls around me love themselves, and so they take my love for myself as a bad thing. theres a veil up and it leads to misunderstanding and broken hearts. 

i wish my friends could see me the way i see them. they are unique and bright and bold and amazing. but i also wish they could see me the way i see myself.