Hi, my name Emily.

I’m an energetic, friendly, 19 year old girl who loves creating all kinds of things. I love painting, photography, drawing, making music, building things, knitting, crocheting, sewing and many other creative hobbies. I love playing sports, and to me, playing them is more enjoyable than watching them. I grew up with two older brothers so I learned to play hard and be competitive.

I’m currently a sophomore in the Honors Program at Central Michigan University pursuing a Neuroscience degree with a Philosophy minor. It’s a good combination in terms of classwork, and I get to make the joke that I can screw with people’s brains in more ways than one. It’s a win-win for me. I’m involved on campus as the secretary of Society of Women in STEM, a teaching assistant, and a research assistant in a neuroscience lab on campus. Life has been great to me.

To many people, I may sound like someone who knows what they’re doing with their life and has no problem doing it. However honestly, I’m really not that different from everyone else.

I have insecurities just like everyone else.

I have things that I don’t like about myself.

I still think I’m not good enough from time to time.

But I’m still learning to love myself.

It is honestly one of the hardest, most winding journeys that life puts us through. It happens to all of us. Everyone has insecurities, everyone has problems, everyone thinks they suck at something.

One thing I’ve realized so far in my time on Earth is that I’m the only one to notice my insecurities and generally the only one who cares.

For instance, sure, I could get a Filler nose job, but unless I work on my sense of self-esteem first, then the results would be in vain as I would just find another element of my appearance to feel insecure about.

Where I am in life right now is an interesting place. As a college student, I have so many opportunities available to explore and define myself. There’s so much uncertainty and newness about life for anyone, especially those moving away from family and friends to try and reach a better life. In the midst of uncertainty and change, how are you supposed to love yourself if you don’t really know who you are? It is a struggle and I believe that it is the most difficult part of any person’s life journey.

My answer to discovering myself is to accept things as they come and not worry about things that have no significant effect on my mood or my health, in the end, every part of your life will fall into place.

Life is hard, but it is also amazing.

I’m still learning about the world around me as I grow and change, hoping that one day I’ll change it more than it changes me. In the mean time, I’ll keep loving myself as I am and I hope you do the same.

Check out Emily’s article on The Odyssey Online Self Love Beauty community.