Everyone that has ever attended high school has had a personal experience with witchy girl drama. Mine just happened to be in college (and something that would be easily adapted into Mean Girls 3). There was no fight, no argument, not even an accidental insult. It started with being deleted out of the group text and ended with being left alone at a party, on my birthday, with no way of getting home. It was honestly the most ridiculous thing I have ever experienced, but this post isn’t meant to be a rant so I'll move on.

For a long time after this, I was incredibly self-conscious and too afraid to put myself out there for new friends. I spent a lot of time hanging out with Netflix in my dorm and not a lot of time talking to other people. Basically, my confidence started to fall apart at the seams like a cheap dress. It seems like such a sad, pathetic story when I type it out, but I promise it doesn't stay that way. The point here is that I have learned so much in the past year that I am practically a different person. And as hard as it is for me to say, I want to send out a thank you to the girls who stripped me of my confidence.

Thank you for teaching me to take care of myself and that it’s okay to put my needs above others' sometimes.

Thank you for opening up an opportunity to start from scratch and recreate myself from the ground up.

Thank you for forcing me to be stronger, smarter, and even a little more confident than I was before.

Thank you for knocking me down a peg, because now I am nicer to the people around me and I’m more understanding of their insecurities.

Thank you for pushing me away, into the arms of the girls who will be the bridesmaids at my wedding.

Thank you for helping me realize just how important it is to surround myself with good people who will treat me, and themselves, with respect.

Thank you for giving me the chance to reflect on who I am and the kind of woman I really want to be.

Thank you for leaving me alone so that I could find my favorite Ben and Jerry's flavor (Half-Baked).

Thank you for proving my mom right – mean girls will always be around, regardless of where or how old you are.

The take home message for this article is not that all girls are mean or that you should never trust anyone. The message is if you move past the things and people that have hurt you, most likely you’ll find yourself to be better than before. Every experience is an opportunity to learn and to fix something in your life that isn’t working. I know I sound like a fortune cookie as I write this, but it really is important! Take the bad experiences and turn them into something good.

Oh and also that mean girls aren’t worth your time or your tears – the American Girl magazines were right when they said that girls are mean because they’re insecure. Hold your head high and show them just how worthwhile you are.