Being 20 is an interesting age. It’s the age where you kinda have to start acting grown up but don’t really want to. It’s the age where some of your friends are getting married and some are close to graduating college. I catch myself having amazing days and some not so great ones. I am still figuring out what I want to do, who I want to be, and where I want to go.

Nowadays, more than ever it seems guys and girls both struggle with insecurities around this age. But what I have learned this year is that we need more people to be confident in who they are and to know that they are freakin’ awesome, even when we all don’t really have the answers we want just yet.

When I find myself letting the world get me down, I remember these 5 things that help me stay positive and keep on keepin' on:

1. I learned that I can't have good days without some bad ones.

Without sad times I wouldn't appreciate the happy moments. Without failing, I wouldn't know the feeling of success.

2. I learned to not compare myself to others.

This is a big one. It's so easy to compare lives through social media. But just know, social media doesn't show real life problems. Usually, if I have the worst day ever... I don't post an Instagram of me crying! Everyone chooses to find the best parts of their life to post and sometimes I get caught up thinking that that's how it's supposed to be all of the time...but that's not how life works.

3. I learned that everyone goes through life at a different pace.

We're all different for a reason: meant to look different, act different, and believe different. Some people take 4 years to finish college... some people take 7!! Some people get married at 20 and some find their soulmates at 30. Some people instantly gain success and some people have to work at it for years. There's no specific timeline for anyone and it helps to know that it's going to be okay if your plan is taking longer than expected.

4. I learned to stay POSITIVE.

Not even kidding- positivity has saved my life!! I've gone through major sucky times and even then, if I looked REALLY hard I could almost always find a positive that came through my struggles. It really is the most challenging thing for me sometimes, but it is worth it. I learned to think of the good and focus on that. It takes practice but if you think about the negative too much you get stuck in this hole that is very hard to get back out of.

5. I learned that life begins at the end of my comfort zone.

A family friend once told me to try and say, "YES" to everything you can and if you don't like it, then you don't have to do it ever again. If you do, then you experienced something you would've never experienced if you stuck to what was in your comfort zone. I've learned to step outside of the box and learn to take chances. It definitely is nerve-racking and scary!! But this really changed my life for the better. So say yes to the job, hanging out with people you maybe normally wouldn't, and going off the beaten path because you truly never know what could happen. This to me, is the best way to live and learn.

We all have the power to be the confident people that we were made to be. I'm only 20 and have a lot more learning to go. I know that life gets harder and struggles never stop, but I also know there is so much to look forward to in this life and to be happy about.