The Lesson of Loving Yourself by Brianna

The Lesson of Loving Yourself by Brianna - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Henry Adams once said,"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." There is always lessons on 'being the best you that you can be' and 'accepting yourself no matter what', but I don't know how many of the teachers that I've had actually meant what they said with those lessons. My journalism teacher, Janelle Schultz, taught me that life is tough, but it's even tougher when you don't love yourself. The body, the soul, and the mind all need a little TLC throughout the day in order to have a great day.
The first day of journalism, I was thrown into a classroom full of people that I didn't really know and a teacher that I didn't have an inkling of information about. As I sat in the classroom learning about deadlines and how to write a proper story, I realized that this was not a class that was going to be easy by any means. The year progressed and I progressed with it, sort of. Schultz noticed a change in my attitude. I was quieter and tended to stay within a small bubble. Schultz kept me after class one day and asked me what was exactly bothering me. Telling a teacher that you are uncomfortable in your own skin is not an easy thing. But as I sat and told my teacher what had me down, she told me that I was only hurting myself.
That didn't make sense to me. How could I be hurting myself when others were hurling hurtful words at me? That's when Schultz looked at me and said the most important phrase about body image, "who cares?". Two small words that packed a big punch. Who cares? Who cares if you're big or small? Who cares if you're quiet or outgoing? Schultz didn't care what I looked like. She appreciated me as a student and as a person.
Loving yourself is hard. It's even harder when you don't have a strong support system. Schultz taught me an important lesson the day she asked me "who cares." She taught me to that to love oneself is the hardest challenge one will ever face. But I face it every day because I had a teacher that cared enough to sit me down and pour her heart into a conversation.