Sometime back, I made a stupid, rather aggressive, list in my head. It basically had everything that people told me was too 'absurd', 'weird' and 'impossible' to achieve all at once. And for once, I believed them. But I kept going. I remember wanting to colour my hair blonde and letting go of whoever found it too weird, even if it had to be my best friend. I remember dreaming of scoring over 95% and dreaming of Lady Shri Ram College For Women. And I also remember crying my way through my board exams and sleeping more than I studied

No offence but it is that wretched time of the year again. There are only three times in a year when I feel like being in a relationship. One: On Valentine’s Day. Two: On my birthday. And Three: well, all of the winters actually. Okay, before you begin to read between the lines, please know that I know – perhaps better than most around me that other people are not medicines. I will not let a person in, hoping against hope it will be an antidote to my depression and melancholy. I will not use a body, just because I am lonely and in a position to use somebody.

Song in Loop: My Silver Lining – First Aid Kit I want to write a story. About lust. I know you don’t belong to me. I know you know where your home is and it is not in me. I, I am the temporary refuge. And as you finally drop your filters, perhaps with whiskey kicking in and rest your head nonchalantly on my chest, telling me more about your depression, I know I am just a refuge for you.

Beginning: The Seed is Planted <img class="img-responsive center-block" alt="Your're Perfect" src="/img/youre-perfect-cp/youre-perfect-cp-1.jpg" width=50% heigth=50% /> Before we could even interview Tarun Gidwani for his “You’re Perfect” initiative, we were so inspired, we knew we just had to do this in Delhi as well. While we were just going through various posts such as the Logical Indian and going through his Facebook Profile, we felt a mammoth amount of motivation that we possibly cannot articulate in words.

When we first heard of his “You’re Perfect” campaign, we fell in love with the idea so much so, that we decided to interview this kind stranger. Few exchange of emails revealed a beautiful composition, hither to kept under the wraps. After soliciting unequivocal consent, we bring you Tarun Gidwani’s contribution to LEANONTREE. You're perfect. How does it matter what the living or dead people say about how this should be?

There has been a realization and a revelation to me less than 24 hours ago. Someone I barely knew but admired came up to me and complimented me, saying I have really sharp insights to offer in the workshop (that's where I met her). I thanked her, tried controlling my face from bursting into a warm red, and walked back to my friend. After gulping down a glass of water and coming close to him, I whispered hesitantly, “A counsellor just now complimented...." "I know!”

Childish! Foodie! Maternal! Voyeuristic! Some of the many parts that Annie finds in her heart to love and accept completely. Completely? Or "it is a process..." as she often quips! Let us welcome this brand new and long awaited addition to our Self Love Challenge! Without much ado, here's telling you what all Annie loves about herself. I love that even after being abandoned time and again by people in name of friendship

So here is a self lover who is ready to make her self-love declaration go live! However, she doesn't wish to put her pictures on the Blog? Does that mean she isn't real? No! She is one us! You might have shared your metro ride to office this morning with her. Perhaps she is classmates with your daughter.Perhaps she is your daughter. Or a son just trying to accept his gender.

Dear Leaners, brace yourself up for a ravishing Self Love entry by Anjana! We would let this dynamic lady do the honors. You know, her introduction, and all that jazz! HII. I'm Anjana a.k.a Shruthyy :) Okay, so I'm not really great with jotting down my thoughts in words so let me tell you that this list is gonna be completely random..'Cause being organised has never been my cup of tea!

We at LeanOnTree simply loved this entry! It is seldom that we frequent entries on our Self Love Challenge that doesn't require editing at all. Here's presenting Pompi Banerjee unplugged, with her honest and "publicly share-able" declaration of her love for self! So, after a considerable amount of procrastination and false starts, here I am, writing about the 50 things I love about myself.

Rachna…A Hindi word that fundamentally means "Creation!" Let us figure out below, what all the Creation aka Rachna loves about herself. This one is for the girl with the most sincere and honest smile. Loving yourself is an art and I love myself in various ways, one of which is reminding myself how grateful I am to be alive, enjoying my life with the one I love the most and can live another infinity years with him.

"Realized that it had been a long time since I had appreciated myself." With this one line, Subhalaxmi Parida submitted her '51 Things I Love About Myself' for our Self Love Challenge on Facebook. We all are making our journeys in this world. Her world is driven by passion, humility, truth, search, and learning. She has principles and she is never afraid to stick to them.

"It's still rather overwhelming that I could complete this. After the first ten, I did it all in one go. Lots of love." She is one of the first people to accept this challenge from our side, and went on to challenge several of her friends to do this. Because she knows what it takes to get this done in this world. Personally, she has one of the most reassuring and calming smile I have EVER seen.

"My life has had so many influences, and all of them have worked together to make me who I am right now. Being from an upper middle class family, finding the good kind of company at the most impressionable age, personal trysts with different sets of religious beliefs and lack thereof, bullying in school, exploring my identity, battling depression

Awww!!! Honestly speaking, we never had THESE many AWW-moments while proof-reading any other entry in the Self-Love Challenge. And no, we will not divulge any more details. Why don't you read Manish Aggarwal's flamboyant, innocent and very honest declaration of self-love, and figure it out for yourself? Okay fine, we will help you with the inputs, as and where required. Winkss!

Leanontree warning: This particular entry in our Self Love Challenge, could be a bit of a roller-coaster ride! Happy Reading!  "I am excited. I like to take up challenges and follow them. Let’s see what this one brings out for me." I love it when my dad puts his heart out to me. He shares his worries and concerns with me. Because he knows I'd understand.I love my face cut. From a few angles it looks real hot. Umm.

While flipping through the mails of friends and family members that we have received as entries for the Self Love Challenge, we were pleasantly surprised to receive this one entry in particular. Quite strangely, we don't know the person whose self-love story you are going to read in a bit. In fact, she insists upon not sharing her pictures or Twitter handle.We wonder who this strange girl is... Anyway, here is sharing with you all, Megha's tryst with loving herself!

I accepted this challenge thinking it would be fun, and then I just forgot about it. But when I saw Sahil's post I realized that I need to do this...if I say I will, then I will. So here are the 50 things :) I love the fact that I am a very resilient person. I may cry my heart out, I may scream and shout about the injustices I face, but I will eventually bounce back and overcome most things that life throws at me. I love easily. I have been hurt loads of times by people I have loved, but I never seem to learn :).

This is the first post of the #SelfLoveChallenge. Please check the event details and send us your entries declaring your love for self. Now, over to Sahil. So, I had to take the challenge, like obviously! More than wanting to set up an example and help other self-lovers come up with their posts, I really wanted this experience. “50 Things I Love About Myself! No big deal!!! I can do it!”

Do you love yourself? Do you want to love yourself but don't know how? Do you want to take on this journey of loving self with all of us? Then this challenge is exclusively for you. Tell us 50 Things You Love About Yourself! Yes. You love about yourself. Yes. 50. It's difficult right? We know! That's why it's a challenge! How to join ? Start thinking now of the 50 things you love about yourself. Write as it comes to you. No filters at this moment. Write even those things you may consider silly, like your calf bones and the mole down your neck.