Whenever I leave the house, I always make sure I have three things: my phone, watch, and chapstick. This sounds totally basic, I know. However, there is also another accessory that men and women alike should never leave home without: confidence.

OK, I realize that sounds even more basic than the first sentence, but bare with me. Our millennial generation is so concerned with constantly staying in contact, trying to get the most "likes" on Facebook or Instagram, and being liked by the general public. So, what if we turned this obsession inwards, thus liking ourselves inside and out?

Those awkward middle school years of braces, acne, and first dances didn't do our confidence any good. Every person has struggled with self-esteem, and both men and women suffer from a lack a confidence.

According to a study done by the New York University Child Study Center, 75 percent of the girls talked to age nine or lower had high confidence levels. However, this number dropped to 56 percent when children reach middle school age at around 13 years old. This statistic is enhanced when we look at the fact that seven in 10 children feel like they don't measure up in some way.

Confidence can be worn like an accessory— it's OK not to wear it all the time, but when you do wear it, you feel good. In a time where we constantly seek validation by the "likes" we get, the texts we receive hourly, and the amount of people that like us, we should be focusing on loving ourselves more.

By constantly being worried about what others think of us, it puts our generation at risk for a variety of different issues. Poor confidence and self-esteem are linked to diseases such as depression and anorexia. In fact, 20 percent of teenagers will experience depression related to poor self-esteem before they reach adulthood.

Sure, you might have a bad hair day or get a massive pimple on your nose, but confidence comes from the inside— not what other people think of you. There are worse things in the world than having a couple people not like you or getting a pimple the size of a volcano. So instead of gaining validation from those "likes" we constantly seek out, we should be receiving validation from ourselves.

Everyone makes mistakes and has a day where they don't look their best, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't like themselves as a result. The love we show ourselves shines from the inside out, so if we love who we are, other people will see that and be more receptive to us.

Part of loving yourself comes from loving your flaws. Confidence isn't something we can buy, but neither is someone else's approval. We should wear our confidence— and our flaws— like an accessory, or a badge of honor.