There comes a point in your life when you have to stop worrying about other people’s opinions and views of you. If you realize what makes you happy, that’s the path you need to step forth on. Not only is it sometimes scary to discover for yourself who you are, but it can be even more difficult to express those feelings to the people you care about. For me, it was something I could never picture myself doing. Not until the summer I learned to live for myself. Along my journey, I’ve come to the cliche realization that those who love, value, and care about you will accept you and love you for exactly who you are and what you do in your life. They will support you through the highs and carry you through the lows. The people who really deserve to be in your life are those who, no matter what, remain by your side through absolutely everything. I was lucky enough to come to the conclusion that I was blessed enough to have several of those people already in my life. If the people you think care about you leave at the first sign of trouble or despair, get rid of them. There are a lot of terrible people in the world, and you don’t need to fill your life with those who are toxic to you.
After being in college for a little over a year, I can honestly say that college does in fact change people. Some for the better, some for the worse, and some a mixture of both. I’ve been changed by my experiences for sure, but the biggest lesson that being away from home in a whole new environment with all kinds of people has taught me is that being yourself is okay. It’s more than okay; it’s a beautiful thing. Having the summer to reflect on this new learned lesson changed my entire life, and I made some choices that, in turn, made me happier than I’ve ever been.
At the end of the day, your happiness is the key to a good and fulfilling life. You can spend your whole life trying to be someone you’re not, pretending to be someone else, but in the end, what good does that serve you? Fake friends? False self-image? Attention and popularity for reasons that are made up and fabricated? What if I told you that you could have real friends, a real self-image, and positive, healthy attention from respectable people by being who you truly are? Would that change the way you conveyed yourself? I sure think it would. It changed my entire perspective of my life. If you aren’t happy with who you’re pretending to be, it’s a simple fix. Be you. Be all of you. Because you’re absolutely more than enough.
Self-love and acceptation is one of the hardest things to find. For me it was like finding a needle in a haystack. But just remember that that so-called needle is in there buried deep down inside of that haystack and with enough effort and work, you will find it. You will accomplish self-love and acceptance if you look to the deepest part of yourself and work for it. I’m not saying it’s an easy journey. In fact, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. But when you finally find that needle, there’s truly no feeling like it. This is where genuine happiness is found.
I know it’s said so many times, but life is short. It’s too short to pretend to be a person you think everyone wants you to be. When you begin living for yourself and not for everyone else’s acceptation and admiration, a piece of you becomes whole again. You start to find purpose in your life. You start to help other people who are like you. You start to be the person you’ve always dreamed of being, always wanted to be. So if you’ve been looking for a sign to do something, say something, change something, find something, or be something, here’s your sign. I sure know I needed mine.
