I know what it's like to feel completely and utterly inadequate and to have people underestimate you. Pretty soon, you start believing those things and you become your own worst enemy. It's tough, I know. You constantly hear this little menacing voice in your head repeating things like "you're not good enough", "you're not worthy of anything", "you're a loser who will amount to nothing" - going on and on like a broken record. To all of the young women reading this, I know it is an especially hard time for you. People sometimes forget the struggles that come with being a young twenty-something; it's this weird, crazy time where we're (once again) figuring out who we are. And It can be difficult to flourish and figure that all out when our insecurities get in the way. But I'm here to remind you of something: no matter who you are, or what you've been through, or the awful things people have said to you in the past - you are good enough, you matter, and you are special to so many.

If a guy made you feel like you weren't worthy of being loved because "you weren't good enough", shake those negative thoughts out of your head, because you are existing within a false conscious. If you live day by day constantly comparing yourself to other people - whether that be another woman, an ex-significant other, abandon those cruel thoughts. You are beautiful and you are enough for anything and for the whole wide world to see. I figure, if people have the power to make you feel like trash, then are they really worth it? What's the point of having someone around when they are just going to build you down? You're not really gaining anything from that. If anything, you're consuming all those terrible things and projecting it onto yourself. You're beautiful just the way you are. If you are going to change - do it because you want to, not for anyone else who makes you feel like you're never good enough.

Whenever I feel this way, I remind myself that I'm not exactly seeing things clearly, and that I need to get a better perspective. It's tough to see our worth when it's clouded by the judgements of other people, and then we emphasize those things. I have to step back and recognize if any of the things I'm thinking are real. I sometimes catch myself thinking that I am not worthy of love, but then I remember that that thought is caused by a toxic person from my past - someone who made me feel that way. Try to think of yourself - only yourself - without anyone else's input. You are incredible. You are smart. You have something to offer in this chaotic, messy world. And remember, you do have a purpose. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you.