In this day and age it is very difficult to simply be who you are. There's a constant stream of who you are supposed to be, what’s the new thing you should be doing, how you’re supposed to act, and what you're supposed to look like is being thrown at us through the screens our eyes are glued to. As a millennial I can honestly say that I don’t think I would be able to go a full day without my cell phone or internet. We stare at a screen all day and see everything from the newest apps, Victoria Secret's newest line and what are the highest paying jobs out there. Generations before us will just tell us “not to look at it” and “get off your phone for a while, look at the world around you.” We’ve grown accustomed to it.

In a study done by PewResearchCenter, 73 percent of teens today have a smartphone, and 30-40 percent are preteens aged 12-14. Parents will do anything to shut their kids up, so we stare at a screen all day with the world at our fingertips, instead of physically seeing it for ourselves.

It doesn’t help us in the process of trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives (besides playing Pokemon Go). Between the ages of 18-23 we are still babies in the spectrum of life. We have so many years ahead of us and it is perfectly normal to not know what your next step is. You may be overwhelmed but you will figure it out, I promise.

Since my freshman year of college until now (going into my junior year), I have changed so much. I decided to stay on campus which was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Living in a dorm I have met a lot new people and I’ve formed so many relationships that I know are going to last for a very long time. The people I have met have opened me up to new things and walked with me through new experiences. If I had never met my friend Ariana, I would have never thought about applying to be a writer for this platform. She forced me out of my comfort zone and I’m forever grateful for that. It also taught me how to be independent and I had to start doing things by myself, like making sure I ate proper meals (which didn’t happen often) and doing my own laundry… yay adulting!

Going into my first semester I didn’t have a full plan. I thought I wanted one thing but I learned a year and a half later that my original plan was not what I wanted. After realizing my first plan wouldn’t work out I switched to plan B, which meant changing my major. I know some people question how I could do that a little under halfway through my college career, but I want to wake up in 10 years and be happy with the work I am doing; I might be in school for extra time but I know in the long run it will be worth it because I will be happy. It’s perfectly okay to change your major one or two or possibly even three times, it’s a lot of pressure to have your life plan figured out in the span of four years or five years.

Aside from learning and life plans, working on yourself is important to. With media influence of course I felt like I needed to form to societies subjective opinions at times. In order to be my best self, I realized I had to learn to be the person I aspired to be without the influence of the media, my family, my friends, etc. This past January my brother made a comment to me and it made me want to change my lifestyle. I knew I needed to make a change but I didn’t have the mindset or motivation to fix it. Since mid January until now I got back into lifting and I not only look so much better, but I feel 110 percent better now than I did in the winter. I didn’t do it for anyone either, sure I was told I gained a few pounds, but I knew I would be so much happier and healthier if I changed and I’m so glad I did. I’m working on myself for myself and I’m so glad that I can feel happy about myself despite the influences that surround me.

Sometimes all you need in life is to take a deep breath and take a leap forward. It might seem scary at first being in new situations with new people but it will be well worth it in the end.