Strawberry peach juice changed my life.

I am the strangest person I know. I play with rocks, I put gummy worms on a Mac 'n Cheese box and pretend they are sailing on the ocean, I wear head scarves, blue tights, and giant glasses, and when I fall asleep in class I drool all over my desk. I have social anxiety, yet I like to do abnormal things in public and observe people's reactions to me. People are so interesting! Sometimes they ignore me and pretend that everything is normal, and sometimes they stare openly, as if their ferocious looks will deter me from my socially abnormal behavior. I don't do strange things in public to get attention-I do it because I love to observe human behavior, and to see how people react so differently to uncomfortable or strange situations.
Anyway, recently I have gained a greater understanding of who I am. I am Heavenly Father's daughter, and that's enough for me! It didn't used to be, but I have learned a lot about myself and God's love for me, and it's so incredible. I am completely myself no matter who I'm with or where I am, and I don't ever feel ashamed about how weird I am. I've had confidence in myself before, but never this strong. No one can bring me down, because Heavenly Father always loves me, and I love myself. This knowledge is so empowering! It frees me from worrying about what people think of me, or how they will respond to me. I have faith in my abilities, and I know that everything will turn out okay. I see some people who seem to be frightened of themselves and their incredible abilities, and it makes me so sad. I want everyone to be able to have a firm confidence in themselves, to stand up for who they are and have trust in God's love for them. I know that it's not an easy thing, because it took me 20 years to reach this point. I know that I'll have ups and downs--I will still get down on myself, and I'll have bad days. But I'll always have this foundation of believing in myself, and loving myself because God loves me.
The coolest part of this is that when I love myself completely, it's so much easier for me to see the good in others. I get sucked into judging others so easily, and in getting frustrated and impatient with people. But when I'm patient with myself, I find that I'm more patient with others, and I look for what is unique and awesome about them. I'm definitely not perfect at this--especially when I'm at work. But it has been really cool to experience.
I haven't always had the easiest time with myself. In fact, throughout most of my junior high and high school years, I really didn't like myself that much, and I was scared of my own shadow. I have experienced feelings of hatred for myself--feelings so low that I seriously considered suicide. Granted, I was influenced by medication both times I wanted to take my own life, but the emotions were no less real. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with this incredible gift of knowing and loving myself. I hope everyone can feel like this, because He loves EVERYONE! This knowledge doesn't mean that every day will be easy, and that everything will work out how you want it to. Life is still challenging and frustrating, and trials and temptations will surely come. But as long as you have that foundation in Christ, and as long as you believe in yourself and in God's love for you, then you'll be able to get through anything.
Now I'm going to treat you to some pictures of me in my craziest states. Please laugh heartily, because they are quite funny. (Is it tacky to put pictures of yourself/do a post about yourself on your own blog? Eh, oh whell. According to my brother, tacky is the new cool.)

Prison Mike.

Head scarf! That scarf has protected my ears many a time.

My friends say I have quite the eye for fashion, and who am I to disagree?

Giant glasses! I get the funniest reactions while wearing these.

I love being a hobo! But real hobos are scary.

Apparently being a goob runs in the family....behehhh.

Okay, everyone smile! My smile is worthy of a toothpaste commercial. So sincere.

Doo-rag!!

Okay, this one is totally justified. Athena tooted, and it was RANK! My hands were occupied, so I had to grab something to keep my airway from being poisoned. There weren't any gas masks nearby, so I grabbed Zach's pants. For some reason it was hilarious. What was I supposed to do?

That was such a cool hat.

Yessh! Best picture I've EVER taken.

I was painting all day, and had to make an emergency run to the store. So, I went as I was. No problemo.

I look awesome. This one's going in my model portfolio.

I've saved the best for last. This is my personal favorite.