Recently, I've had to do a lot of soul-searching. A lot of decision making about what I think is best for me, which is honestly not the easiest thing to do. It's not always easy to find the time and resources needed to create a peaceful head space for yourself in which you can start to truly create and express who you are. However, I have learned that it's always good to start with baby steps. You don't need to drastically change everything. Sometimes you just need to surround yourself with positive reminders so you can build up the courage to be who you are and do what you want to do.

In hopes of inspiring others to be who they are and do what they want to do, I have complied a list of a few quotes that have helped me in the past and continue to help me today.

1. "Inhale love and energy. Exhale doubt and negativity." - Beyoncé

2. "Invest in yourself. You can afford it; trust me." - eatmoveinspire.com

3. "The hardest walk is walking alone, but it's also the walk that makes you the strongest." - Ideapod via Twitter

4. "Be someone that makes you happy." - unknown

5. "You know who is going to give you everything? Yourself." - Diane Von Fursenberg

6. "You deserve something you don't have to question. You deserve someone who is sure of you." - r.h. sin

7. "I am slowly learning that some people are not good for me, no matter how much I love them. I deserve someone who is gentle and kind, because my soul is getting tired. Realizing that I deserve something good is one of the first steps." - Michelle K.

8. "You are not weak just because your heart feels so heavy." - Andrea Gibson

9. "I decided that I wasn't bossy. I was strong. I wasn't loud. I was a young woman with something to say." - Michelle Obama

10. "i am mine/ before i am ever anyone else's." - Nayyirah Waheed

11. "I am okay. I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna live a beautiful life and I'll get to know beautiful people. I will create things of beauty and be surrounded by flowers. And I'll love myself, and I'll be soft. I'll be kind. And I'll be okay." - @softestwan via Tumblr

12. "Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don't fit into boxes." - Tori Amos

13. "'no' might make them angry/ but/ it will make you free.// --if no one has ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger." - Nayyirah Waheed

14. "You deserve the love you keep trying to give everyone else." - unknown

15. "Seek to be worth knowing rather than well known." - Confucius

16. "Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy." - Robert Tew.