I want to start this off by challenging you to think of the top three things that you like about yourself. These things could be personality traits, physical traits, or anything else that you can think of. Keep these three things in mind.

We live in a society where we are told that we should love who we are, but also get bombarded with narrow expectations of who we should be. This is not limited to only the women in our society, men experience this too, but as a woman I can not equally relate to both. We have body positivity movements while simultaneously having news broadcasters shaming women for not wearing makeup and not "looking their best" at all times. This huge contradiction leaves women in a limbo regarding how they should feel about themselves.

You should love yourself. This does not necessarily mean looking in the mirror and absolutely loving everything that you see. This means that you should be proud of the person that you are, and you should be confident to be yourself. This is obviously easier said than done, but it is not and should not be impossible for anyone.

How can you start to love yourself? You already did! A couple of minutes ago you thought of the three things that you like about yourself the most. By doing this you saw yourself in a positive light. Anytime you start to think negative thoughts about yourself, recall these three things and add one more to the list. Pretty soon, it'll be much more difficult to have negative thoughts, and a lot easier to shake them off if they are ever directed your way.

Treat yourself. Recognize the hard work that you do and the daily obstacles that you overcome, and be proud of yourself. Buy that Venti Starbucks drink at the end of a long day. Get that manicure you've been wanting to get. Let yourself spend a day in pajamas watching "Gilmore Girls" and sipping tea. You deserve all of this.

Be thankful for the body that you have. This can be difficult when you wish to be a mirror image of the newest Cosmopolitan cover model, but be thankful for the body that you have. Your body does so many wonderful things for you. You have about 3.72 trillion cells in your body working non-stop to keep you alive and healthy.

Falling in love with yourself is one of the most freeing things you can experience. When you love yourself, nothing can hold you back.