I'm starting to wonder if the human body is only the mind's way of trying to externalize itself. The problem is that making profound changes in the way you think and the things you take for granted is more difficult than it sounds.

When people say "I can't do that", what they really mean is "it's way too hard to alter the way my mind works."

So....I took a while and thought about exactly the kind of girl I'd fall in love with, exactly the kind of girl that would make me gaze in awe, the kind of girl that would earn my admiration and envy. Then I promptly started trying to see myself as exactly that girl.

It's really hard, and that's precisely the reason that so many young women have issues with their bodies or the way they look. These insecurities go deep....very deep. But I hold myself differently than I did a week ago. I hold my shoulders back and look people in the eyes and feel a sense of happiness...if only a tiny one...in the girl that I am, in the potential I have for love and beauty, in the potential I have to inspire admiration and awe in other people.

It could take weeks, it could take months. But I know from experience that even the strongest thought patterns in our awareness can be changed. All it takes is a willingness to work at it.

It's totally worth it, and I really do deserve it. =)