It isn't easy being yourself, let alone loving and accepting who you are, in a society where people can be so judgmental. That's why Kesha's note to her 18-year-old self, that she wrote for CBS This Morning, is something everyone should take the time to read. In it, she shows why being yourself is enough and getting to a place of acceptance with yourself is important, even though it may come with many struggles along the way.
"That bad girl, I don't give a sh*t attitude, it'll work for a while, and you will get a dollar sign tattooed on your hand that will last forever probably. But the truth is, you don't need to put on an act," the Rainbow singer writes to herself. "You can just be Kesha Rose Sebert and guess what? Apparently that's good enough." She continues, "People will listen to your music and come to your shows as long as the art is honest and good and you're just being yourself."
Self-love isn't something that has come easy for the 30-year-old. She has pretty much been to hell and back, which she has chosen to share publicly. From battling an eating disorder to suffering from depression to her ongoing lawsuit with music producer Dr. Luke, the "Praying" singer's life hasn't been without its difficulties. It's taken her a long time to find happiness and to appreciate who she is in the process.
Kesha knows that no matter what, who you are will never be good enough for everybody. That is exactly why she preaches embracing your true self and prioritizing pleasing yourself. As she writes in her note,
The bad news is, you nearly killed yourself on the road to success, fueled by fear of failure, crippling anxiety, and insecurity. You will become severely bulimic and anorexic and the worse your disease gets, the more praise you will get from some people in your industry. And this will really, really mess with your head. But when you're trying to live up to an unrealistic expectation, it's never going to be good enough. No matter what you do.
Kesha putting her hardships out there and admitting that it's taken her a long time to accept herself is inspiring, to say the least. It just goes to show you that it can sometimes be a hard journey to get to the point where you're able to love yourself fully.
There's nothing wrong with anyone who has to work for self-love, either. It doesn't happen overnight. Just look at how far Kesha's come. She is proof that even after enduring many ups and downs, it is possible to get to a positive place.
Part of Kesha embracing who she is has come with the singer learning to let go of her past. In an essay written for The Huffington Post in July, the "Learn To Let Go" artist opened up about how she refuses to be held back by the issues she's battled. "You have to learn to let go of those bad feelings and move forward," she wrote. "We all have bias based on whatever our own story and life experience has been, but really the only way to truly evolve is to let the past be the past and move forward with an open heart."
That's clearly what she's doing, especially through her new music. As she writes in her latest note,
One day you're gonna write a song called "Rainbow" and you're gonna be really proud of it because there is light and beauty after the storm, no matter how hard things get. You're going to write this song so you remember to make it through. You're going to remind yourself to love yourself and if you have truth in your heart, there will always be a rainbow at the end of the storm.
There's really no better advice, so next time you're having trouble being yourself or need your spirits lifted, refer to Kesha.
