For the past few years, I have always been searching for a relationship, whether I knew it or not.

I would browse Tinder and Bumble, and I would always search in crowds for people who caught my eye. I would ask my friends if their guy friends were single, even though I was just joking most of the time.

I always felt like there was something in me that needed or really wanted to be in a relationship. I honestly can't tell you why I felt like that. Sometimes, I think it was because I didn't want to be left out in a group of my friends and their significant others. Other times, it was because I was holding on to how it felt to be in a relationship, rather than taking the time for the other person.

However, since confronting the fears that were holding me back, I've begun to come to terms with what is the most important thing: myself.

I am beginning to do the things I love again, starting to become who I was before I felt plagued by my past. I'm learning to love myself first and foremost.

In order to make changes in your life, you must first confront the things that are holding you back. One of my roommates is going through a similar situation, and I'd like to share some advice to not only her but to anybody who feels bogged down by their past, their demons or anything that is not allowing them to move forward.

That advice is to think about what you want.

This may not come without hurting someone. Sometimes, that is inevitable. Truer words have never been spoken by my dad and grandfather, when they told me that, "I'd better start liking myself because I will have to live with myself for a long time."

You should come first in the eyes of yourself. If you're in college, this is the time you have before settling down with families and big responsibilities. This should be the time that you become who you want to be for the majority of your life.

It has taken me years to come to these realizations, and they're still settling in as I try to become comfortable with where my life is and how I am living it. It's not an easy thing to do. It's not something you can say to yourself after you wake up one day.

But it's also not too late to start becoming who you want to be and to stop letting others hold you down.

Move forward with your dreams. Move forward with what excites you. Move forward with the life you want to live. Move forward and let go of what's holding you back.