When we say our first words, those first sounds of human language, whether they are mama, daddy, dog, or what not, nothing beats the accepting smiling faces of our parents.They are proud, we are the greatest gift in their lives.

Our lives are composed of milestones, some small, some monuments. When we reach these milestones we are greeted with open arms and positive encouragement. Yet, when we don't meet expectations or goals, or take longer to accomplish milestones than what is expected, we can feel nothing but failure. We consider ourselves abnormal, disadvantaged, and left behind.

We spend our whole lives searching for this invisible form of acceptance. We seek it from a number of different mediums: our peers, society, our significant others, and sometimes even strangers. We waste precious seconds of our lives worrying, comparing and contrasting, and ultimately unhappy.

This article is a call of action. I hope it gives you whatever it is you are seeking. I hope it gives you the confidence to not always look for self-acceptance from others. I want to tell you that you are enough and your life is in the direction that it is meant to go. But I know that there are some people who do not hear these words, they were dealt a different hand, but deep down in my heart I choose to believe that God did this for some reason even though you have searched far and wide for some kind of answer and have found nothing. I want you to know, that you should be proud of yourself and even though I am a complete stranger and I don't know your life, I am proud of you. One person, one complement, one simple act of reassurance is enough. So, be proud because you have fought and you have lived.