#LovingMe

Tonight's post is a bit late to the party. (It is my midterms, so I have more homework coming at me than I can complete in allotted time. This week has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future stress-filled, homework piled, sleepless nights. To Be Written blog posts are stacking up in my drafts folder. Insanity!) This past week was National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. In support of this Her Campus Blogger Network encouraged members to share what they love most about themselves. More importantly: this is totally unrelated to physical appearances!

It is so important to remember that there are things to love about ourselves independent of our physical appearance.

A lovely heart surprise in the dishes.
I love my ability to appreciate and feel
gratitude for the "little" things, like
this.

Contemplating the "what do I love about myself?" question, I came up with three biggies.

• Creativity. My light shines through creativity. Writing, drawing, painting, photography or even scrap-booking; when I can create, I blossom and grow. In the backyard, my father built a swing set. It's old now, showing the signs of wear. Well loved with rusting joints and fading wood, it opened the world to me. It fed my imagination, which is now wild-running and never stops. My creativity and imagination pull me into another world when I need to get through hard times. They serve as expression when I need to let myself free. They are how I show others how much I care. All of my proudest accomplishments come from creative adventures.
  
  
• Playfulness. I love to have a good time. Having fun, laughing, giggling, and enjoying life, they're all part of my every day life. I'm not traditionally the "life of the party." I'm not a partier. Drinking isn't my thing, nor is clubbing. All the time I've been in college, I've never attended a dance. (Though I did go to every one in high school!) But I excel at play. It's what counters my studiousness. Being able to make life less serious, laugh at myself, and have a great time no matter what has gotten me through my darkest times. It has also brought countless moments of joy to strangers and those I love most which, for me, is the greatest treasure.
  
  
• Resilience. At first I wrote strength, then I hit "delete." The truth is, I do not find it my strength that's admirable. Weathering a storm isn't remarkable; we can all weather that. But being able to weather the storm, to take life's punches, be knocked down on your bum and stand back up and face it all again - that's resilience. It's not the event, action or situation; it's how you stand back up again, how you handle it and how you move forward. So, resilience, that's what I love most.

What do you love about yourself?