It's so easy to get caught up in friendships and relationships that you forget to take care of yourself. Sometimes you're so wrapped up that you forget who you are and you lose yourself. I'm here to remind you why it's okay to chose yourself. Trust me, I have given up so much to take care of the people around me and I wouldn't change that for the world. However, my confidence and attitude were altered because of it. It's hard to put so much of yourself into someone when you get little in return. So it's okay to be selfish and think about yourself.

You owe yourself the love that you so freely give to others. You deserve love and happiness just as much as everyone else. Start by loving yourself.

By choosing yourself, you learn to accept yourself. All of the good and all of the bad. It's not easy to look in the mirror and realize all of your flaws and accept them. It's the scariest thing in the world to accept flaws but once you do, you realize that all of these things make up who you are. Do not apologize for who you are. Embrace it.

Push the negative people out of your life. It might be painful, but trust me when I say that you will become a much happier person. Toxic relationships are not worth it. Once you let go of these negative people, you have the chance to grow and let your positivity shine through.

Do not let others outshine you. To quote the brilliant Cristina Yang, "Don't let what he wants eclipse what you need. He's very dreamy, but he's not the sun, you are." You are important and you are the sun. Remember that.

Learn from yourself. This might be the most important thing. Learn from your mistakes and never make them again. To quote The Lion King, "The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it." Life is about learning and growing. Who better to learn from than yourself?

It's time to start choosing yourself. Do not let others dull your shine. Be confident, be smart, be you!