The crash diets, the obsessive eating, trying to find jeans that actually fit my body type - I've been there. Before you picture me as a size-two, blue-eyed blonde who has it easier than she thinks, allow me to paint the real picture.

I'm a size 11/12 in jeans, 5'6", with what I would consider thunder thighs (though my friends may disagree). Call me Miss Relatable.

I have been growing tired of talk show hosts and writers who have the ideal body type but try to tell women to love themselves. Though the message is valuable, I think it's time to hear it from someone with a body that's imperfect - at least by Hollywood's standards. I've struggled with body image since the age of twelve. I was convinced I was fat because my curves were coming in early and I thought I needed to be really skinny. I obsessed over magazines and wished and wished that I could look like the girls in the movies. I didn't see many people like myself in the media, so I thought I wasn't beautiful.

The standards are narrow - not just in America, but all across the world. From Latin American countries to India, the message the media projects is clear: fairer skin is better. It's no wonder that a 2011 study by Dove revealed that only 4 percent of women in the world think they're beautiful.

That leaves 96 percent of us who don't value our appearance.

For a very, very long time I was unsatisfied with my weight, my hair, my skin color, my everything. I had no self-esteem until I realized what was going on. Advertisements and magazines had brainwashed me to think that I wasn't good enough. As early as seven years old, I felt like I had to change my looks to be valuable. Sadly enough, that dissatisfaction usually continues into old age.

I urge you as you read this right now to make body peace with yourself.

No more undereating and no more overeating. No more believing that your value is defined solely by your appearance.

Have you forgotten that you were born smart, creative, loyal, unique, fast, or funny? Stop blaming society for your insecurities and start focusing that energy on your strengths. Do what you're good at and do what makes you feel good.

Throw out your old magazines. Better yet, make a collage out of them. Find words that inspire you and glue them to a notebook.

Has anyone told you that you are beautiful today? Well, you are. You, [insert your name here], are absolutely beautiful because of how talented you are and even for your unique flaws.

Personally, I'm drawn to unconventional things like freckles, or tooth gaps, or wild curly red hair - things you don't see on the front covers of magazines every day.

You don't have to be perfect. Be your unique self. After all, there's only one of you.

Vanessa James, a sophomore journalism major from Durham, writes about body image and positivity. She says she's ready to make peace with herself and she wants you to do the same.