Haters gonna hate.

I’ve been called vapid, hollow, fake, fame-seeking, privileged, ignorant, uninformed, uneducated, intimidating and inauthentic over the last few days. Add to that a whole series of comments about my butt, feet, cellulite and age and it could be a recipe for a self-esteem disaster. Men I’ve never met send me pictures of their private parts on Snapchat, leave illicit comments on YouTube telling me what body part of mine they fantasize about and get mad when I don’t respond and tell me to shut the F up and open my boobs on Periscope.

I’ve thought about hiding under a rock and taking down all my social media accounts, but what good would that do?

I have a “do not respond” policy to negative comments but sometimes, I must admit, I get drawn in. There is a part of me that believes that everyone will respond to reason, that one day when people get to know the “real” me they’ll see that I’m a good person.

But lately I’ve come to a different conclusion.

Not everyone responds to reason. You can’t negotiate with someone who hates you and sees only your worst features. In fact you’ll only be wasting your time. No sense in trying to talk them into love when they already decided to judge you.

That got me thinking about how much time I’ve spent trying to prove to someone else that I’m a good person.

I’m done with that.

I’m a good person. Whether you see it or not. I’m not perfect and I’ve got my inconsistencies and faults, but I’m a good person. I know it and that’s really all that matters.

Be yourself. Be true to yourself. Be strong enough to take the good and the bad and not let it take you off your authentic course.

Don’t change to please people. Sing the tune of you with the relaxed self-acceptance that comes knowing exactly who you are and loving it.

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More from Kino: 

Stepping toward Authenticity: Sharing ourselves wholly & completely.

One Thing that is Lacking in the Yoga world.

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Author: Kino MacGregor

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photo: Agathe Padovani/Instagram