Open.

"Just as much as we see in others we have in ourselves." -William Hazlitt

"Life marks us all down, so it's just as well that we start out by overpricing ourselves." -Mignon McLaughlin

"Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heart-ache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, to discover what is already there." -Henry Miller

"Shyness has a strange element of narcissism, a belief that how we look, how we perform, is truly important to other people." -André Dubus

"The lowest point in our confidence is when we feel inferior to others; the highest point being when we feel superior. The time in between is spent struggling to realize that we're each as beautiful as the next." -Alex Gray

Self-Confidence.
It's a beautiful thing.

It's not easy for anybody to snap up and say, "Ok, I feel comfortable with myself." out of nowhere.

We all have problems and issues about ourselves that demand a lot of mental attention and frustration;

"I'm gay." "I'm fat." "I'm black." "I'm white." "I'm short." "I'm tall." "My hair cut is lame." "My nose is too big." "My boobs aren't big enough."

Etcetera. Etcetera.

As many personal struggles that you have, you need to remember that everybody is feeling this way.

You're not alone. You're never alone.

We each go through the pain of not feeling good enough and the fear of rejection.

We all want to be liked by that special someone and will go to immense heights just so they'll notice you.

You don't want to eat the whole bag of chips because you think you'll look fat.

The sad part of this remains in the fact that all people are self-concious about themselves in some way.

In our minds we think that everybody is staring at us, mentally pointing out flaws that (let's be honest) they probably don't even notice.

Think about it; how often do you point out flaws in other people?

If you do, how long do they actually stay in your mind?

Remember that we're all human and we all make mistakes.

None of us are perfect; the people you're envious of have problems, too.

As nice as it would be for each individual to know that and treat each other with respect, know that it won't happen anytime soon.

Stand up for yourself and know that you're beautiful; know that you're creative, smart, inspirational, wonderful.

Be the person you want to be; there isn't enough time in life to be afraid of the opinions of others.

Satisfy yourself because that's the only thing that matters.

Have fun, smile, dance, sing.

Everybody is equal.

Everybody is an amazing person inside and out.

Diversity brings us together in an amazing world; because you or others are different doesn't mean you're a bad person or need to be treated like one.

We're made of all different colors, shapes, sizes, personalities...

We're here for a reason; everybody is.

Don't let self-doubt stop you from reaching the full potential that you know you have inside.

Now smile and be you, because being somebody else is much more difficult anyways.

Love & Miss You.