So one thing that I haven't had a problem with in a long time is loving myself.

I know that sounds a little narcissistic – but I grew up with an extremely strong mother, and other strong women in my life. I never saw any female figures being pushed around or overshadowed until I got older. So when I was younger I was pretty much confident that women ran the household (and the world), and that was going to be me too. My husband and I have this running joke where I say to him

“Maybe one day you’ll love me as much as I love me”

In a day in age where people/women are CONSUMED with hate for themselves, I’m proud to say that I am confident in myself and I treat myself better than anyone would ever be able to. I read an article somewhere recently that stated that you should treat yourself exactly how you treat your VERY best friend. When you are extremely upset about something, write it down (or write it in a text) – then REPLY to yourself. Read your message, and reply with all of the advice that you would give your best friend to cheer them up.

And I LOVE that. I love it. Because so often we are so much harder on ourselves than we would ever be on someone else. Sometimes you need to be a hard ass but sometimes you need to cut yourself some slack. Be your best friend. Be your biggest fan. Be your own support system. Control your own happiness because YOU know yourself better than anyone ever will.

Being humble is an extremely important part of self-love. My mom taught me as a little girl that in conflicts you need to first look inward, at your own heart, and decide if this conflict/argument/issue is YOUR DOING, and it is, YOU needed to apologize and resolve it. She also taught me that if it’s NOT YOU, then you need to realize that the argument is stimming from somewhere in the other person that is hurt or broken and respect that. I’ve never forgotten that. To this day in every conflict I face, I evaluate my own actions first. You have to -HAVE TO- be able to recognize your own flaws and wrongdoings. Thanks ma for the humility lesson.

Another important aspect of self-love is to surround yourself with good friends. I’m talking like down to earth, good, whole hearted FANS of you. This is why some of my best friendships are my newest friendships. Get yourself a group of friends that you can text and say “Hey I’m running away and joining the circus” and they’ll be like “OMG YAS YOU’LL BE THE BEST CIRCUS PERFORMER EVER”. Find people who aren’t threatened by your shine, aren’t comparing themselves to you, aren’t putting you down, aren’t raising themselves above your, or being fake.  

So, I’m not saying that I look in the mirror and all I ever say is DAMN GINA WHAT’S UP. Because that’s not the case. I obviously have insecurities just like everyone else but I REFUSE to let them take control over my life and my happiness. I’ve been a tall girl since I was born and popped out the womb at 6’2. No, but really it was the root of my insecurity growing up because along with being tall comes – big feet, long limbs, altitude sickness – you get the point. But now I’m the first one to poke fun at my height because let’s be real, all my tall girl jokes are way funnier than everyone else’s anyway ;)

Here’s my homework for you. I want you to write down everything you LOVE about yourself. This is a great way to start the self-loving process, in my opinion. I’m not talking about just physical features, but what you really ADMIRE about yourself. When you’re done I want you to send me a photo of your list. Tweet it to me or DM it! Whatever, I just want to see what you guys love about yourself because you’re all fab and I love you.  

Here’s my list: