Over the past couple of months, I have found myself struggling to understand what it means to be genuine. I would look at people and think to myself that if I could be like her, I would be living the genuine life. I remember laying in bed one night and trying to come up with a list of what it meant to live this life that I so badly wanted to live. I couldn't come up with one. I couldn't think of a characteristic that would fall into the genuine category.

After thinking and thinking, I finally tried to go about this list in a different approach. I opened up my notebook and titled the top of the page "What isn't genuine living?"

1. Genuine living is not looking perfect.

All throughout my life, I had this idea that if I had the perfect hair, the perfect complexion, the perfect body, or even the perfect clothes, I would be a genuine person. Thinking this, I would become stressed in trying to find the right thing to wear only going to school in a disappointment.

2. Genuine living is not relying on people for your happiness.

People are people and we have been told in the beginning that they are not perfect. They let us down and make us feel stupid for trusting them in the first place. You won't be happy if you continue to rely on people. Relying on people doesn't make you genuine person but relying on yourself does.

3. Genuine living is not being in the perfect relationship.

Your whole goal in this life is not to find the perfect boyfriend. You should be living for you and not for someone else.

4. Genuine living is not being happy and smiles all of the time.

You are human. Being genuine means to show genuine emotion, not to hide it and hope that no one finds out.

5. Genuine living is not doing the things that you know that you shouldn't do.

I've seen this a lot in college. If you know that you shouldn't do something, that doesn't make you a genuine person.

6. Genuine living is not lying to yourself.

For me, when I think of being genuine, I think of being true to myself. You have to be strong and confident in your decisions. You can't just lie to yourself and say that you feel something when you clearly don't.

7. Genuine living is not falling into peer pressure.

Again, you have to be true to yourself and not let the world shape who you are. You have to forget about the world and think of you and who you are.

8. Genuine living is not comparing yourself to others.

When I think of unique, I think of being genuine. You are who you are and you're not letting people hold you back.

9. Genuine living is not feeling superior.

Being humble is a big thing too. Being genuine shows you're heart and doesn't ask you to seek clarity through your actions and words.

10. Genuine living is not having a closed heart.

Going around and acting like you're in a bad mood all of the time doesn't show people that you're genuine. It shows people that you don't want to be anywhere near them.

11. Genuine living is not depending on social media to make you feel satisfied.

I get it. Likes is a big thing and you want to have a lot. But becoming obsessed with how many you get, it shows people that you don't care about anything else.