What I am doing is terrifying.

Every day, I take a nude photo of myself, write an inspirational message over the top of it and post it online in several different places. It is a project I have decided will last for one year.

One naked selfie a day—it is a huge undertaking, and I came by it in the way I come by my most of  my creative inspirations: Quite by accident.

For many months, I have been in an open relationship with a man to whom I send naked selfies. Each day, I come up with different ways to pose and different accessories to wear so that I excite him.

When I first started taking pictures of myself, I was actually surprised at what I saw. I realized I had not really looked at myself in a very long time, if ever. I had been the woman who avoided mirrors. But things have really changed.

Very recently, I realized I had become very comfortable—more comfortable than I had ever been—with my body. I would actually look at my pictures, surprised and proud at how they turned out. I realized that the more familiar I became with my body, the better I liked it. Dare I say, I began to love it. I started sending out my selfies to the other men and women I was seeing. Generally speaking, my experience every morning would go like this:

• Take a picture of some part of my naked body
• Put it through some type of arty filter and crop it to create a more interesting composition
• Send it out to five or six people
• Receive many wonderful compliments regarding my body
• Be proud and happy about my body for the rest of the day

I realized that this daily practice was giving me what I had never had before: A body confidence that was almost bullet-proof.

I am always looking for ways to challenge myself; seeking out ways to improve by putting myself in situations that are just a little bit scary—but this is something that has resulted in such an amazing amount of growth, I feel like it is almost magic.

Since I began this daily photo practice, I’ve also started writing down my thoughts about my body. I started to see myself and everyone around me as beautiful. But I also saw that this was not a shared vision. Many of my closest friends were ashamed or embarrassed of their bodies. I wanted to help them. I wanted to inspire them. I wanted to motivate them to really see themselves. I wanted them to really see their beauty.

I decided I had to do it. Even if I could inspire just one person to see him or herself as beautiful, this year of inspirational selfies would be worth it. I am only two weeks in and I have already seen wonderful and amazing things. I have grown from this practice and I have also seen my friends re-consider how they see themselves.

There are many ways to start your day and tons of advice on how to start a daily practice. I don’t know if there is any one right way for everybody, but I can tell you with confidence that this practice will help to really look at yourself, even if it is only in the mirror. Even if it is only for a moment. Even if it is only for you.

Look at yourself. You are beautiful.

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Relephant Read:

7 Times we should Absolutely take a Selfie—& not feel bad about it.

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Author: Sara Young

Editor: Alli Sarazen

Photo: angela1_ca/Flickr & Courtesy of Author