I wasn’t always this “put together” person you’d see me as today. Don't let what you see fool you, I'm still a college student trying to figure things out. However, there was a time where I was an even bigger mess searching to be the person I’d one day come to be. Now going on 20 years of living, I have learned many things to this day that have helped me along the journey and hopefully, will help you too.

So take a seat, grab a cup of coffee, a snack, and listen up.

1. Stand up for yourself and for what you believe in.

Please take this advice and do it in a mature manner. No one likes the people that portray their opinions upon everyone and doesn’t care to hear from anyone else. By all means stick up for yourself and who you are though! We all have a voice for a reason. So, use it!

2. Stop focusing on trying to find someone to love.

I said it. Stop focusing on trying to find someone to love and instead, start focusing on finding love for yourself. Once you love who you are, you will radiate happiness off of yourself and attract someone when the time is right. Stop searching.

3. Learn to laugh at yourself. Not everything is meant to be taken so serious.

Growing up we all want to be perfect, I understand that. So when one embarrassing thing happens we freeze up and turn red. Some even run and hide. I’ve come to the realization that it’s easier to just laugh. Life is a lot easier when you aren’t taking everything so seriously I promise.

“A day without laughter is a day wasted,” – Charlie Chaplin

4. Everyone is weird because normal is boring.

“We’re all mad here” –Cheshire Cat

Believe or not, it’s true. I’ve come to the realization that there is no true “normal” people in existence, well I’ve never met one anyway. So be weird, be you. Don’t be afraid of what others will think because I bet they are just as odd as you, if not more. Being weird is what makes the world fun.

5. Find your passion and stick to it.

You probably won’t find your passion by crawling out of your bed one day and just walking out of your house, but hey, maybe you will. That’s always the first step of course. Wake up and get moving. Find something you love and stick to it. Whether it’s something you have been doing since you were 3 years old, such as a sport or playing or instrument, or if it’s something you’ve never done a day in your life. Find whatever it is and love it.

6. Take pictures, they're worth a thousand words.

Of course memories will last a lifetime, but so will a photo. Plus, a photo is worth a thousand words as stated before. Capturing the moment in a simple picture is simply a beautiful thing that you will have forever to share and to hold. Take a second and to capture the moments.

7. Do what you want for yourself, not others.

Society teaches us how to act, dress, and just plain old be. Sadly, most of us obey by these limits set on us by others in fear of being judged, but don’t. Don’t do things for the sake of others. Do it for the flat out reason of “because you want to.” It’s your life and what others think should not matter. All that matters at the end of the day is your happiness. However, your happiness won’t be achieved if you obey by what others want you to. Do you, booboo.

8. Soon that boy will no longer matter.

He might have mysterious eyes and a sly smile, but if the pain outweighs the happy then it’s not worth it. Yes, it will hurt at first and you’ll feel like you can’t live without him or you’ll never find someone like him. Take your time to grieve because the time will come where one day no more tears leave your eyes and you no longer drown yourself in ice cream, unless you just want to(; You’re stronger than you think and one day it’ll show.

9. It's okay to be sad sometimes.

We all have our moments and we all handle them in different ways. For example, some people may take naps (aka me,) eat lots of food (also me,) or binge watch Netflix (why is this me as well.) Whichever way you use to cope just know you are not alone. Life isn’t easy and we all get sad. Hell some of us even watch sad romance movies that we know will make us cry and feel alone and question why we’re single…. Wow so off topic. The point is being sad is okay and just know you are not alone.

10. It's okay to not know.

Starting at just a young age we got asked the typical “What do you want to do when you grow up,” question. Guess what? It is okay to not know the answer even as you get older. Yes, it may seem like everyone around you has it all figured out, but I promise you, they don’t. So don’t let anyone fool you because we’re all just as confused as you!