In honor of International Women’s Day, I thought it was time we brought up the idea of “dating” yourself. While it may sound weird, dating yourself is the process of finding peace with being on your own. Many teenage girls tend to rely on significant others and friends heavily for support in all situations, but have troubles finding the same support in themselves, on their own.

So, what is dating yourself? It could be any array of activities that you would normally do on a regular date, but you do it by yourself instead. It’s a new trend that is supposed to promote self-love and all that good stuff.

You are supposed to start out by making a plan and getting dressed up for the whole “look good, feel good” vibe. Look as if you are trying to impress the most important person to you. Maybe pick up a gift or a snack that you’d like someone to get you. Or as, Donna and Tom from “Parks and Rec” would say, “treat yo’self.”

Now, for the actual date out with yourself, only think positive thoughts. Remember, dates are supposed to make you out to be the best person you can in order to find a potential match. You’re not going to go out on a date and only talk about your flaws, are you? So don’t do it on your self-date. Talk yourself up, point out your best qualities, praise yourself on your accomplishments, and most importantly, enjoy your time alone. The main idea of this whole proposition is to fall in love with yourself the same way you would with someone you were on a regular date with. Make it a special occasion.

And don’t stop there. Continue the habits of getting yourself little gifts or taking yourself out for a movie after a hard day of work. Make yourself some coffee and thank yourself for it, because you are awesome and you deserve it. Maybe even leave yourself a love letter here and there reminding yourself of the things you truly like about yourself. Treat yourself the way you would want someone to treat you, because you can’t expect anyone to love you properly if you won’t love yourself first.