By Sam Delacherois —
“When did loving yourself become so rare that it is revolutionary to do so?”- unknown
It started when humanity decided to pluck the line between Confidence and Arrogance and relocate it; so instead, Confidence is struck by that line and omitted from our vocabulary, leaving behind Arrogance as the sole trait for self-description.
It continued when we were trained that our fingers may only count our flaws and that compliments are the only acceptable proof that your eyes are gorgeous or your wit admirable—as if laws constrained this applause to endorse oneself.
It becomes unavoidable when the thesaurus insists synonyms for “self-love” should belittle us. We are bombarded with “narcissism,” “exaggerated self-opinion,” “conceitedness,” “egotism,” “selfishness,” and “vanity.” Mumbling at the bottom of where it started only one synonym of recognition—ONE. “Gratification.”
We are a generation of self-haters: where clothing labels character, where teens are drinking to forget, as if simply surviving makes them a victor, where we insult others behind cowardly screens, where boys are made womanizers—trained that the “friend-zone” threatens their manhood because they are taught to believe that the only reason to be friends with a girl is for sexual “benefits” as routines, where billion-dollar industries advocate girls to hate their bodies, where girls hate each other, where internal pain leaves scars that are covered by bracelets and long-sleeved sweaters, where kids are taking their own lives before their 16th birthdays, where depression, self-harm, and suicide are a romanticized trend considered “tragically beautiful.”
This is NOT beautiful.
It wasn’t beautiful when a human being decided to grab a gun, take a knife, spill the pills, and hang a rope. It wasn’t beautiful when they scribbled a love note. It was not beautiful when their family screamed and howled through the night, when the neighbours lost sleep, when the town wondered what could have (should have) been different: all asking why.
It’s no wonder over 80 per cent of the population has low self-esteem; more than 5.6 billion people on this planet are not content in their own dream. Loving yourself is rare because only the idea has been promoted. We, as a society, seemed to have voted against practicing this self justice. I see humans, but no humanity.
I want to be part of a generation of self-lovers. The line between Confidence and Arrogance must be replaced, captivating descriptors need to become a natural stance that no one ignores, beauty needs to become as broad as the sea. I’m not talking about the beauty in the colour of your eyes, but the beauty in the passions that light them on fire; I’m not talking about the beauty in the size of your stomach, but the beauty in the buzz that unleashes a parade of butterflies; I’m not talking about the beauty of your body, but the beauty of your soul.
Don’t you think those 5.6 billion people deserve to feel beautiful?
Don’t you think you do?
Sam Delacherois is a grade 12 student enrolled in Lake City Secondary. She is mainly (but not explicitly) interested in soccer, medical science, and poetry. She hopes to change the world one day—or at least change a few people’s worlds along the way.
