Social media isn't your validation. It is so, so sweet at times, though. I love posting sappy photos of my boyfriend and friends, gushing about my love for all of them. I absolutely love it. I like sharing my life. The big way I do that is through social media. Here, I am happy. Let me show you. Here, my best friend came and visited. How lovely is that? Social media isn't bad. It's a way to express ourselves online. We are allowed to be ourselves on so many medias, in person and over distance. It's another place to be real.

You shouldn't abuse social media. You shouldn't make it a place to be something you're not, make it a place to glorify yourself, make it a place to obsess over the good things in life that you now cherish in the most secular way. Social media shouldn't rule your life outside of it. Don't post a photo of your girlfriend just to brag about how you have a girlfriend. Don't post a photo of your new car because you want people to be jealous. Love your girlfriend for who she is, not because she gets you notifications on your phone (and not because someone thinks you count as "goals"). Same for your car. And everything else in life. Don't only post photos of you in good lighting because really that's not how you always look.

Life isn't always about how good you look, or how good your life looks. Life should be authentic - on social media and otherwise. Always be yourself. Don't erase your quirks online because you think people won't like them. Don't be one of those annoying 12-year-olds who just posts mean comments on YouTube videos. Just be yourself. If that means posting all the time about your girlfriend, okay, so be it. (I still might make fun of you, but I guess I have to give you props for being true to yourself.) If that means bunches of blurry photos of your favorite moments, don't worry about other people thinking it's weird. You post those fuzzy memories. Your life is more real than a celebrity's Instagram. I'm telling you that Taylor Swift's life isn't all Fourth of July parties and model-filled tours.She has to have bad moments, sucky days. Don't feel like your life - either in person or on social media - has to look anything like her unblemished page. That's fake. Don't be that fake. Be real.

Turn off your notifications for Instagram. Stop paying attention to who is liking your photos. Stop counting the likes. Stop worrying about them. Post a photo because you like it, not because you want other people to like it. There is more to life than the approval of other people. Social media is not a validation of who you are as a person. It's just a place to express yourself. Do so wisely.

I hope you find your worth in yourself outside of social media. Don't compare your online following to your friends'. Don't question why your tweets aren't as funny as other people's. Just know that you are always yourself.

And for the love of all that is good, please only make your relationship official on Facebook if you want to. Please don't listen to anyone else who tells you to do it. You validate your feelings, not social media.