Here's another life lesson that I'm happy to have learned.

Life has a weird way of making you face certain things that you otherwise would have kept ignoring (because who in their right mind gets enjoyment from uncomfortable situations?). No matter how stubborn you are, life will incessantly keep testing and pushing you to change. You can delay the process, sure, but if something is truly making you unhappy, you owe it to yourself to deal with the issue head on. Whether it's cutting ties with a friend, asserting yourself, refusing to be treated poorly or having to take on a stronger stance on social issues, do yourself a favor and do something.

Years ago, life forced me to evaluate a negative friendship. This girl and I were very close: we knew each other's families and had sleepovers; it was as if we were attached at the hip. We had tons of friends in common and loved hanging out with them as a group.

I don't know when I realized it, but my friend's demeanor towards me changed whenever we hung out in a large group. She made sarcastic comments, rudely interrupted me in conversation, ignored me, implied that I wasn't as clever as her and broke promises.

But because she was a long time friend, I dismissed the first few incidents by convincing myself that I made it up or dramatized her behavior. By doing this, I indirectly allowed her to treat me worse. I had finally had enough and cut that toxic friendship, if you could call it a friendship, out of my life. But why did it have to get this bad for me to understand what was really going on?

I still don't have an answer. But I strongly believe that life keeps shaking you into discomfort so you can re-evaluate and re-define who you are, and, in my case, what you're willing to tolerate. This is how we grow, by constantly being pushed out of our comfort zone. We must speak out and voice our opinions. What's the point of being hostile and negative?

Speaking up about something you don't agree with or something that makes you unhappy doesn't make you a hostile person as long as you don't act in a hostile way. Consider this next time: who are you really being hostile and negative to if every time someone or something makes you unhappy, you keep it bottled in?

Remember to treat yourself with the outmost respect and value yourself. I promise you this: once you confront whatever uncomfortable situation life throws at you head-on, you will come out the other side victorious, and you will have a stronger sense of who you are.