Friendships and relationships should make you feel big, not small.

I don't consider Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf to be a great role-model in many cases. Blair is rude, self-centered, entitled, and manipulative. However, when it comes to standards in all of her relationships, she knows what she's doing. Blair demands to be treated well, put ahead of anything that is unimportant, and to be shown rather than told how the people in her life feel. Loyalty and presence are key in all of her successful connections, and I think that's the best way to go. As she once said, "I'm not a stop along the way. I'm a destination."

You and I are not a fallback plan, and we are definitely not the last resort. The sooner we treat ourselves this way, the sooner we will get the right people in our lives.

No one deserves to go home every day feeling like they aren't important. In any healthy friendship, you should be taking care of each other, lifting one another up, and prioritizing each other. It's no easy task, but the right people will want to be there for you as much as possible. They will crave your time and attention.

True friends will want to talk to you, spend time with you, and go out of their way to see you. If they aren't doing these things, tell them how it makes you feel-- which is behind everything else. If they apologize endlessly, but make no changes, it's time to drop them. It will be difficult, but you'll be better off for it. The sooner you weed out the unhealthy relationships in your life, the sooner your social circle becomes less toxic and stressful.

Sometimes it isn't enough to hear someone cares about you. It's time to stop pretending it is in order to avoid being called dramatic or too sensitive. There comes a time to remember that the proof is in the pudding. Relationships in life are two-sided. Both people need to be putting in equal effort in order to keep them thriving. One person trying to keep things afloat cannot bear the pressure and responsibility. Seek friends out who are ready and willing to put the work into being a positive force in your life.

I'm still learning to do this myself. Although I'm blessed with some amazing people in my life, I'm still seeking, and trying to cut ties with the negative forces that have slipped through the cracks. This is a reminder to both you and me.

You deserve to feel worthwhile, and you should only be surrounding yourself with people who treat you as such.