these past three weeks have been a stressful time in my life. senior year hasn’t been what it’s cracked up to be. as a senior class officer, i was in charge of planning the homecoming at my school – which was suppose to be cancelled. i was heartbroken for my senior class who had already lost their junior prom, and now their senior homecoming. so, i brainstormed every possible way we could have the dance. i met with the principal, and we were able to get a dance approved with still meeting all of the restrictions we have right now. it wasn’t easy. we had a week to plan homecoming. i was running back and forth everyday making sure committees were running smoothly and helping anyone that needed it. homecoming week i was there at every event to set up early and clean up afterwards, all while getting video for the yearbook. during all of this already very stressful time, i was involved in some drama that really drained the little energy i had left. when the week was over and sunday hit, i had never been so exhausted – mentally and physically. i didn’t even want to get out of bed. i was on the verge of breaking down into tears every time i thought too hard about something. and i do not cry. i watched the greatest showman twice that day just to feel something. i’ve talked in previous blog posts about how i always look for the lessons in things, and this time wasn’t anything different. one of the most important things i learned during these past weeks is that you have to have a support system. your mom, dad, friends. all important. but the most important support system you need is yourself. you have to be there for yourself, always. that’s why i’m writing this blog post. i want to give you all ways to be that support system that your body and soul deserve.

learn your enneagram.

if you don’t know what the enneagram is, it’s basically a number between 1-9 that describes your personality. i am obsessed. not only do i study my enneagram, but i study every other number as well. i go so far as to predict what number other people are. for those of you who took buzzfeed quizzes to figure out what your wedding dress will look like based on what cake flavors are your favorite, you will eat this up. even for those of you who aren’t big on personality quizzes, i have a feeling this one will change your perspective. knowing about yourself is so important. there were a lot of things i couldn’t describe about myself until i took the test. for example, if someone asks me what song is playing and i don’t know it, i feel so disappointed, angry, and frustrated. i could never figure out why, and this happened constantly with so many other things. every time i didn’t know the answer to something, i was upset. then i learned that i was a five, who’s biggest fear is feeling incompetent. it all made so much sense. it was like something finally clicked and i understood why i would get upset at little things that shouldn’t matter that much. i am now able to take a step back in situations like that, and remind myself that just because i don’t know some random fact my friends are talking about, doesn’t mean i am any less. if you find out what your enneagram number is, please tell me. i love knowing what people are. it makes me happy.

love the journey.

i listened to a What We Said podcast one morning, and Chelsey talked about how important it is to love the journey of things. you don’t like your body right now? that’s okay. but do not hate on it for still doing the best it can at it’s job. if you ever want to reach the point where you’re satisfied with your body, then you have to love your body where it is right now. tell your body thank you. it’s literally keeping you alive in so many ways as you read this without you even realizing it’s doing it. i have a lot of friends that tell me how confident i appear and how they wish they were as confident as i was. the truth is, i’m not always confident. i have my days where i don’t even want to look in the mirror. but i still appear confident because i refuse to hate on my body. it is so toxic and dangerous. it breaks my heart when i hear people talk about how ugly or terrible their body is. no it isn’t! embrace your body! love it! it deserves it; you deserve it.

do it for yourself.

these past weeks all of my time was going towards other people, which isn’t a bad thing. but i needed to put time towards myself as well. self love is not selfish. that is so important to remember. the saying “you can’t pour from an empty bucket” is so unbelievably true. i think something people don’t realize is that self love comes in so many different forms. you don’t necessarily have to take a bubble bath to feel better. it can be something as simple as watching your favorite netflix series. or buying yourself a new outfit. whatever you choose to do, don’t beat yourself up about it. don’t worry about being unproductive, or worry about what other people would want you to do. do it for you. eat that cookie dough. put on those cheetah print heels if that’s what’s going to make you feel better. for me, it’s a hoodie. i always feel so much better in a hoodie. i don’t care if it’s 100 degrees outside and people are going to question it, if it’s what i need, i’m going to wear it. today i blow dried my hair and put my big hoops in (which i haven’t done either since school started) and i immediately felt so much better. because i did it for me.

find out your love language.

one day brynlee and i got on the topic of love languages. we were trying to figure out our own love languages based on how we show love to our friends since we haven’t necessarily been in any relationships. then brynlee brought up a really good point: “what if our love language is how we give love to ourselves, too?” i was in awe. it all made sense. one of my friends love languages is gifts, and when she is stressed she will buy herself something to feel better. my love language is quality time. i don’t care who i’m with or what we’re doing, as long as i am with them i feel so energized and loved. i do the same thing for myself. when i get too stressed or anxious about things, i spend time with myself. i sit alone in my room and i simply focus on myself. it’s so refreshing. learning your love language can help you in more ways than i ever realized. i strongly suggest learning how you give love and how you like to receive it, that way you can give more of it to yourself, and also to others.

law of attraction.

i say probably fifty times a day, “manifest it.” change your thinking. if you think negatively, then negativity is all the world is going to give to you. what you put out is what you receive – that is the law of attraction. you attract what you say. if you really want something to happen, don’t doubt it and be like “but that will never happen” because i’m sure all of us say that way more than we should. say that you want it to happen! you will feel so much better about different outcomes if you think positively about situations. the same goes with you. think positively about yourself. manifest that tomorrow you will have a good day. manifest that you’ll get all the tasks done that you need to. manifest that your hair will look fresh and voluminous. whether it’s something big or small, have a positive attitude about it and you’ll feel so much better. trust me. and if you’re reading this right now and thinking “easier said than done”, then you’re already failing. you are already manifesting that you can’t do it. stop that! believe in yourself for heavens sake.

drink water.

that’s right. i’m gonna health coach you here for a second. you’re allowed to be balling your eyes out if you’re having a bad day, as long as you’re drinking water. that’s honestly some of the best love you can give to your body.

embrace your feelings.

i have a hard time with this one. i am very bad about viewing feelings as a weakness, and i do not like thinking about them when i feel them. but bottling them up is so hard on our bodies, and unfortunately it doesn’t work. eventually your body won’t be able to handle that weight anymore, and it will all come out in one big pile of emotions where you won’t even know what to do with yourself. when you feel something, identify it. is it anger? is it sadness? why are you feeling it? even if it’s something silly, figure out where the emotion is stemming from. you’ll be able to redirect your emotion and think more clearly about what’s really going on. emotions aren’t bad, and they definitely aren’t a weakness. listen to your emotions, because in the end they will tell you what you need to hear.

i hope this can help you build up that support system for yourself, because i’m already here in your corner fighting for that little support system that’s trying to heal you. love you all dearly. now go out and love yourselves too.