Let’s talk today about something that I find exceptionally important in this life we live: believing, wholeheartedly, that we are ENOUGH exactly as we are.

You are enough. You don’t need to change yourself to be enough. You are enough, exactly as you are, being nothing other than exactly who you were born to be.

We know who we are inside. Our souls shine bright and I am a big, big proponent of nourishing the soul — giving our insides what we need so that we can radiate the happiest, healthiest, most confident and most fulfilled version of ourselves on the outside.

You feel me? Because really, when it comes down to it, we can work on the inside. There are all different ways we can do that, from spirituality to meditation to extensive therapy to a straight up “deal with it” mentality and everything in between. Learning to overcome our innermost obstacles and insecurities is probably one of the coolest, challenging, most universal things about being a human.

( I say “coolest” because I am always up for a damn good challenge. )

That’s why I am so, so, SOOOO stoked to be partnering with ProActiv for their Make-Up Free Selfie campaign, otherwise known as the #TrueSelfie.

I am ALLLL about dat True Selfie, my loves. I mean… Selfie without makeup? Snapping a photo of myself, living my life, exactly as I am with no expectations or pressure to be anything BUT that? That is basically my dream come true, but sadly because of the social media world we live in we are so used to having to feel like if that’s all we are… then it’s not enough. 

So, consider this for me:

There are a lot of things in life we can choose. We can choose our friends. We can choose our careers. We can choose what we like to eat and how we like to workout and stay active. And if you’re anything like me, you probably make all sorts of spontaneous choices day in and day out that shape how you spend your time and ultimately how you live your life.

Some of the things we cannot choose happen to also be some of the most important things, give or take, in most of our lives. Our families, for example, we obviously cannot choose. You are born into a family and if they’re not your jam, you have to learn to work with what you’ve got. We can’t make choices about what we are or aren’t inherently good at or really much about our personality or the demeanor we were born with… And here’s the biggie biggie: we can’t choose the skin we are in.

Meaning: we cannot choose our bodies, our faces, our skin, our (natural) hair color, or anything about what my friend Emily likes to call our “Earth suit.” (Love that term, btw.)

And if there’s something we don’t like about ourselves but we don’t really have a choice in the matter, we have a couple of options:

A) Wallow in misery & throw yourself a pity party

B) Try to forcefully change yourself by not eating enough, overexercising, covering your skin in a ton of makeup, Photoshopping your body in pictures for social media, the list goes on and on.

C) Compare yourself to other people over and over until you are so down on yourself you are SURE the rest of the world is down on you too.

D) Do the hard work of EMBRACING your flaws & learning to love every ounce of you, because you deserve it and it sounds a hell of a lot more fun than the first 3 options!

I know it’s easier said than done. Embrace the things you don’t like about yourself? Doesn’t that sound counterintuitive and downright cray cray? It’s really hard for a lot of us to do, but I am not in the business of sugarcoating and trying to make things easy on you. I am trying to get you to take the harder path… The more challenging path in many, many ways.

The path of self-acceptance, self-love, and unconditional confidence and contentment exactly as you are.

That doesn’t mean giving up on trying to be healthy and living a life inspired by wellness — actually, it means quite the opposite. Embracing your belly or your legs or your skin or whatever you feel your “flaws” are, and showing all of those areas love and acceptance is far different from saying, “Screw it! I’m just going to eat fast food every day and stop working out because I’m not even happy with my body to begin with.”

No, no, no, my loves. It looks more like this: “I value myself and I want to be as comfortable and confident in my skin as possible, so I am going to make healthy choices that nourish my body from the inside out. I am going to choose foods that make my skin glow and are full of the nutrients that give me energy to exercise with ease. And I choose to love myself, even through the flaws, especially through the flaws, and represent myself in person and online and everywhere else that I go with the utmost authenticity and respect.”

As a blogger, I see a lot of Photoshopping out there. I also see a lot of girls getting their makeup done everyday for photoshoots, nights out, and whatever else. I am not against getting my makeup done (at all), but I’ve always believed that having a full face of makeup is for special occasions. There’s nothing wrong with getting dolled up to feel good and feel like you put a lot of effort into your appearance for an occasion! But here’s the thing — you shouldn’t feel like you HAVE to.

When putting on makeup becomes more of a chore and more of a “OMG I have to do this or else people will judge the way that I look without it” thing, then it’s no longer fun. I am a believer in keeping the fun in EVERYTHING we do… Why would we do it if it were for any other reason?

It can be hard to remember, but I am here to remind you: you are enough, exactly as you are. If you forget ( we all do, you’re not the only one… ) then remind yourself: WHAT are your choices? Which choice is going to make you the happiest at the end of the day? Is it the easiest choice? Probably not. But, is it the most worth it? HELL YES.

SO, who is with me in posting their #TrueSelfie on Instagram?! I posted mine, and would love for you to join me. Tag me in your photo and use the hashtag so I can see your beautiful, raw, real selves — let’s start a movement.