In 4th grade, your crush would slyly slip you a note folded three or four times over, with a sloppy array of words reading "Do you like me? Check yes or no." In 7th grade, dating a boy included playing telephone, because you were too scared to actually talk to your boyfriend (what a foreign concept, right?). In high school, wearing your boyfriends jersey for the homecoming football game meant you meant something; you were important. While being wanted by a crush or the cute guy you see every morning at the coffee shop is fun and exciting, its not everything. And it shouldn't be.

For me, love has always been something I have loved. The idea of finding your "perfect match" is invigorating. Someone to go on those picture perfect dates you always see on Twitter or Tumblr or whatever social media it is you use. But what happened to loving yourself first? What happened to looking in the mirror and saying "damn I look good" without having to hear someone from the male species say it? In always searching for a boy, I feel like some girls lose a sense of who they are along the way. They lose sight of their goals, aspirations, lose a bit of self confidence; basically are blinded by the 6'3 dark haired good looking guy at the bar. Being in a relationship or a fling is fun and falling head over heels for the right guy should be perfect. But knowing inside who YOU are is most important, and always remembering that no matter what any guys says, YOU are beautiful, YOU are confident, YOU are smart, compassionate, honest, truthful, funny, bold. But most of all, YOU are worthy of love. From a boy, or girl, but mainly from yourself.