My mom has always told me, “people will treat you how you let them treat you”. I have come to find, especially as I get older and experience more in this world, that this is undoubtedly (and unfortunately) true. Of course, there are ample people in this world that treat everyone with kindness, respect, and decency. There are a lot of people like this out there. But the many that do exist always seem to be clouded out by the many that disrespect and take advantage of others.

This blog has a point, I promise, but let me back track a little and tell you a little bit about my own life, before I get straight to the point. I haven’t always been the most confident girl in the world. In fact, I still am not. I have a very fragile soul, and things that people say can easily hurt my feelings. I have, however, always had a pretty good head on my shoulders. I think a lot of this stems from being hard on myself as it is (and also from being raised by two incredible parents, whom I owe the world to). I know that I deserve to be treated with respect. Why in the world would I bring people into my life that do anything but uplift me, help me grow and motivate me to become a better person? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I critique myself more than enough, I don’t need other people to do it too.  I guess I was lucky enough to recognize this innately, but so many people don’t.

It breaks my heart when people don’t demand respect, because I see so many people (particularly women) who get walked all over by society. This is especially true with relationships. I see this a lot being in college, surrounded by the “hook-up” culture. So many girls are used, treated as a number in the guy’s mind, and then utterly forgotten about. Often times, girls are ‘on board’ with the hook-up scene. If this is truly fun and enjoyable to some girls, then that is wonderful. If that brings them genuine confidence, then go for it. To me, however, that is never something that would make me feel good about myself, and deep down, I don’t think it genuinely makes other girls feel good about themselves, either.

The way I see it, a guy should have to earn a kiss from a girl, and if it is meaningless on both sides, then what’s the point? It certainly isn’t impressive to ‘get with’ a lot of people (any horny guy would gladly make-out with a willing girl). It’s much more impressive to regard yourself highly, and demand respect for yourself. Again, as a disclaimer- for those that truly enjoy this, then keep doing what you’re doing. Regardless of anyones personal thoughts on the ‘hook-up’ culture, I just want every woman to know, understand and fully comprehend that she is beautiful, unique and deserving of respect and love. It is something we, as women, have to demand. Settle for nothing less than respect.