it never hurts to feel noticed, right?
i recently posted a picture of myself on instagram (inserting a shameless plug to my insta here), and i realized that a lot of the validation in how pretty i felt in that photo came from how many likes and comments i received on the picture, rather than just feeling pretty because it was a nice picture of me that i enjoyed taking.
i then started feeling stupid, because how many times do i judge another girl for posting a picture of herself for the same reason i did… the answer to that question is a lot.
why have we created a society that demands for us to feel unworthy if we don’t receive many likes on social media, when that number is based on people who look at our picture for two seconds, tap twice on their screen and move on? why do the number of times the words “slay” and “fire” show up in our comments have impact on our self-esteems?
i think it boils down to this statement: i want to know that someone thought about me today, even if it was only for a couple seconds.
so it’s now time to pause this blog/rant/train-of-thought to tell you a couple of things really quick:
- you are worthy.
- you are loved.
- you deserve to feel loved.
- you deserve to feel seen and understood.
i say all of this to you, dear reader, knowing that these statements can be hard to believe sometimes. heck, i spend a good portion of my day reiterating these statements to myself because i find myself doubting their truth. however, my doubt doesn’t make them any less true. maybe one day, it will get easier for me to believe and trust in their truth.
until then, let’s all be a little kinder to one another. we’re all fighting different battles, but they’re battles all the same and they can take a toll on a person, whether they look happy on the outside (or in their pictures) or not.
maybe one day our worthiness won’t be based around follower count and we can focus on things that are more beneficial for our time and talents. things that are real and good for our souls, like videos of cats and babies playing together. or calling up a friend and letting them know you’re thinking about them. or telling a stranger something sweet you’ve noticed about them–in a non-creepy way.
until then:
we can make it through this.