About Me

Hello! My name is Aru and I am currently a senior in high school. I am someone who has always been a perfectionist, and who has built her self-esteem off of productivity. Although this has pushed me to be a very committed student, it has also pushed me to the brinks of my mental well-being. I was my hardest critic when it came to perfecting the potential of my productivity. Whenever I didn’t achieve my potential, I felt so incredibly let down by myself. This self-betrayal felt painful and extremely disappointing, but the pain wouldn’t stop there. I would constantly ruminate about how I possibly got myself in the position I was in and would harshly critique myself. Although I thought my critical self-talk would keep me humble and working harder each time, it only made me fearful and in more and more anticipation of my mistakes, creating this spiral of disappointment and self-loathing in my head. It was only from my therapist that I learned of this idea called “self-compassion.” Originally, I was so apprehensive of what seemed like an ego-boosting approach that could be counter productive, especially since I didn’t feel deserving of much kindness. But, once I started practicing positive self-talk, I couldn’t help but cry. Although I am so lucky to have such a strong support system at home, I had never felt this kind of support before. Hearing the warmth of positivity from your own mind is something so powerful and life-changing. My own mind was always the most hurtful to me, creating images of myself that constantly haunted me and pushed me towards burnout each time I failed. But, by starting to practice self-compassion, I felt like I finally had control over my own life and how I saw myself. Thus, I started this website as a way to spread the word about practicing self-compassion and provide resources that I was able to find through having the privilege of going to a therapist. I wanted to share this gift with my peers and all teenagers so that they could find the love and warmth they couldn’t find in other places within themselves.