Blog #14: Valentine's Day

I’ve been in love once in my life. Actually… I’m still in love with that person. It’s me! Ha!

Throughout my life, I’ve found it very easy to love certain parts of me. For a very long time, I’ve loved my intelligence, my ability to lead, and my adventurous spirit. Although it is natural and good to love the great things about yourself, these alone do not constitute you as a person. Along with our talents, we all are riddled with flaws and shortcomings— these are what make us human.

Instead of accepting and acknowledging this, I chose for a long time to not love myself as a whole person— flaws and all— but to only love those traits of mine that were admirable in some way. I thought I could pick and choose what parts of me deserved love and appreciation.

This is so funny to me, because I would never imagine loving anyone else in my life in this way. My siblings, parents, and friends are all incredible people. They are all also flawed in a multitude of ways. I knowthe flaws they possess, and I know their remarkable qualities, and yet, neither of these determine the love I have for them. As I should with myself, I love them as a whole person.

My intelligence carries with it a fear of not being good enough, and my leadership skills are sometimes tainted by selfishness. As much as I don’t like admitting it, these are merely a couple of flaws among the many, many more I possess. Loving myself as a whole person doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge these flaws, but instead, means that I love myself in spite of them. Loving myself means that I recognize and work on these flaws to become a better version of myself, rather than focusing merely on what I do well. Loving myself means loving myself as I would a close friend. Loving myself means knowing and appreciating my own value, period.

So, wherever you are in the world, I hope that you’ve either had a great Valentine’s Day, or that you are having a good one now. As you celebrate the people in your life who you love, don’t forget to extend some of that to yourself, flaws and all.