A note to the 13 year old me

I’ve complied a bunch of quotes into letter form that I wish I could have said to my younger self. These quotes I’ve found at different times in my life and they all inspire and uplift me. 

Dear younger me, 

You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. 

There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty. 

The human body is the best work of art. 

Let’s focus more on being healthy instead of focusing on being skinny! 

By choosing healthy over skinny you are choosing self-love over self-judgment. You are beautiful! 

Be a girl with a mind, a woman with attitude, and a lady with class. 

Step Away from the Mean Girls… …and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks. Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others. This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world. 

Your body can stand almost anything it’s your mind that you have to convince. 

Girls of all kinds can be beautiful – from the thin, plus-sized, short, very tall, ebony to porcelain-skinned; the quirky, clumsy, shy, outgoing and all in between. It’s not easy though because many people still put beauty into a confining, narrow box…Think outside of the box…Pledge that you will look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you. 

In your own life it’s important to know how spectacular you are! 

Love the 28 year old you.

Xoxo Stefani Nicole