Growing up, your image of yourself may change. For instance, young children don’t typically compare their bodies to other kid’s and feel insecure about particular things. However, as we get older, social “norms” and expectations develop around us and the thought gets into our heads that we have to look a certain way to be considered attractive.

The first thing that usually causes this (at least for me) is comparison to other people. Whether it be models and/or other celebrities or just people around us in our everyday life, when we start to compare ourselves to others is where the insecurities begin. The reason: we start to think that that is how we should look and that is the only way to look good.

Another factor is overanalyzing. If you stare at yourself and just closely pick out every single flaw, it’s going to get into your head that those “flaws” are all anybody sees when they look at us. Which leads into another reasoning for body insecurities; fear of what others think. No matter how many times you tell yourself you couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of you, it is human nature to care a little sometimes. After we convince ourselves that we have an unattractive body, we think that everyone else thinks so as well.

The question I have, though, is who decides what’s attractive and what isn’t? When did we develop the idea that everybody has to look the same? Here’s the thing; trends change all the time. While one body type is deemed as the “perfect” one, in a couple years, it will most likely be a different one. So at this point, why even try keeping up with the trends?

Comparing one thing to another and saying one looks better is just purely subjective. Everybody has different preferences and opinions. Think about it like this: Flowers and Christmas lights are both beautiful, but they look completely different. Who is to decipher which one is prettier? Nobody has enough power to place one body type over the rest. As long as you’re satisfied with your body, other’s input is irrelevant.