don’t let them, just don’t.

This is one of my all time favorite quotes. “do your squats, eat your vegetables, wear red lipstick, and don’t let boys be mean to you.” Okay, so maybe it’s not a quote, more of a motto, but either way, I love it. Especially the last one. Don’t let boys be mean to you.

Don’t let anyone be mean to you, really, a rule I think everyone should live by. And I could write extensively on how boys shouldn’t put up with the games that girls will sometimes play or how servers should not have to deal with rude customers, but this one is just for the ladies. Yes you, beautiful/powerful/magnificent you, I’m talking to you.

I’ve always noticed this theme in girl chats, but for some reason, it’s seemed to come up more and more lately. If you didn’t know, girls talk about boys. A lot. And I’ll just use one convo as an example. One of my good friends was telling me all about this boy that she liked and all I could think of was “you may like him, but by golly I don’t.” He is stringing her along and does not treat her like the incredible, unique, young woman that she is.  She deserves better and so do you.

I’m honestly not positive as to why girls put up with it, but maybe it’s because we get so caught up in this fairytale fantasy. Then, when we find a boy that is cute and is occasionally nice, we put up with the bad. We put up with the times when he ignores us or is rude or just generally does not treat us right. We can’t see that we can do better. It is so tough too because, as Taylor Swift explained in a way only Tswizzle can, “You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he’s not easy to spot; he’s really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair.” (!!!) Too true.

And even strong, confident women put up with mean boys because, according to pop culture, girls should be nice (read this article and then go see Trainwreck because Amy Schumer rocks). As Amy proves, likability should not be equated to niceness. Even then, being nice is not on a black and white scale. You can be a nice person and not put up with people’s s***.

You are lovely, an incredible female who deserves the moon + the stars. And the people around you should make you feel that way. So don’t let boys be mean to you, just don’t.