Stop seeking that temporary, useless attention. Start seeking that attention you are proud of, the right type of attention.

It took me a while to learn this myself. I was in the mindset of any type of attention was the right type. Man, was I wrong. You cannot expect someone else to give you the attention you deserve, if you are seeking it from the wrong places.

We live in an age where guys can pretty much expect a hook-up on the first date with a girl. And hey, I am not shaming those girls because I have been one of them before. It is not something I am necessarily proud of, but it is part of me and one of the reasons I am who I am today.

Trust me, these hook-ups get old. Boy after boy. Making sure you do not catch feelings. Keeping it as only friends with a few benefits. It is a lot of work. I remember it was so fun and exciting at first. Personally, I looked at it as a way to help me love and respect myself. Knowing these guys wanted me or were attracted to me helped me feel better about myself, or so I thought. I thought I was getting attention from cute boys, what more could I need?

It was about three or four months of this before I realized I really was just hurting myself. Giving myself to any guy just because they wanted me was neither of those, just the opposite actually. I was disrespecting myself on so many levels. I was worth more than needed that constant attention from guys. Getting attention from the right guy is one thing, but just from any guy who will give it is a completely different thing. Everyone craves attention, it is who we are. What I learned, though, is I need to crave the right type of attention. Attention for good work I have done, or attention on my effort. That attention is worth so much more than pointless attention from pointless guys.

Once I realized what I was doing, and realized that it really was not healthy, I started to actually love and respect myself. It is a journey, it does not just happen overnight, but once it does happen it is a great thing. You will feel so much better, more full of life. To be proud of the type attention you are receiving. Something I would want to tell my parents about. I do not regret that stage I went through, but I am sure happy it is over. That was a time in my life where I gave all the control to guys I barely knew. Gave them control of my life. It became my goal to seek that attention. But I learned, they should not be in control of my life, I should. I am now learning a new type of love and a new type of respect. A type that is for myself, and I am absolutely loving it.