I used to wish I could wipe away all the blemishes and ignore that they were ever there in the first place.

I used wish I could  put on a facade for the world to see me without…

…without insecurities.

…without pain-

but only with beauty and as a living manifestation of perfection.

But then I think…and I think again.

I know that if that were my reality, I would not fully be me.

I am not me without the good and what I sometimes consider to be, the bad-

but I am rather a perfectly imperfect human being.

I am strong, because I choose to accept that my strength lies within me.

I am content with my life knowing that the only limits I have are the ones I choose to accept.

I am the peaceful knowing that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I am the beholder; the beholder is me.

So love yourself first, queen, before you go wishing you were someone or something else….

-because I know that I will only be respected if I respect myself first.

Embrace what you consider to be, the bad…

…love yourself first,  because your flaws do not define you,

You, Define. You.