Growing up I always wanted to be the leader of everything. Of course, when it was time to play pretend school, I was the one that wanted to be the teacher. I envied the fact that my plain boring, average American last name was in the middle of the alphabet because it meant I couldn't be at the front of the line when our class walked down the school halls. I eagerly knocked on neighbor's doors to lead their dogs down the street. I perfected babysitting fliers and made a five page long instructional for my neighbor when she had to watch our white fluff ball while my family journeyed away for three days to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I could talk about how my favorite thing to do in the 4th grade was clean or how I made my cousin cry because I was being so bossy when we were playing dress up. I have always been a hard worker. I speak my mind, I have goals set, and I have always had some sort of routine.

While not all of you may have personalities that scream "bossy", "leader", or "hyperactive non-stop worker", I believe something we all possess is a fire inside of us that tells us not to quit. I mean come on now, guys, we are the millennials right? (Okay, I'm tired of hearing that too...) But you get the point here... we just don't give up. Last month, I returned to the land of the free, the home of the brave after living and studying abroad in Costa Rica for five weeks. Their culture that is embedded on working hard but not stressing was much needed and I think we could all benefit from experiencing such a tranquil life. Upon my return, I really have reflected on how I can implement at least some of their culture into my life in this country where, in order to find tranquility, you have to live in the middle of a corn field located two hours away from the nearest Walmart. Our society tells us to keep fueling our bodies, brains, and minds. #cantstopwontstop

I have been at a standstill for a couple of weeks. How can I rid of my biggest fear? The fear I have that I always have to be the leader, the talker, the one in control. The same goes with you reading this... how can you drop your fears our society has caused you to develop? Because, you know, if you do not have the right GPA you are not going to be successful. You better be networking and making connections and being exactly on time to everything. If you're having a bad day just suck it up and read something on Twitter because that will make everything better. Well excuse me society, but I am going to show my tattoo at a networking event even if it's not deemed "professional" and I am going to be five minutes late because I needed that time to meditate a little longer while drinking my protein shake this morning.

This week, I broke down some walls that I thought were too strong to tear. I have always been told to go with the norm and live a life of constant eagerness. But Costa Rica taught me things I needed to reflect upon. I do not want to keep living a life where I have to "never give up" and "give it my all". I don't want the next sixty years I live to be one where I have a schedule of constant work, goal-setting, and perfection. I don't know if anyone has told you yet... but there is so much beauty in surrender. If you were to eat it I'm sure it would taste like one of those Ben and Jerry's crazy flavored chocolatey heaven of ice cream. Surrender is something that we are not allowed to do in the United States. Well, you know what, a lot of doctors tell us not to eat ice cream, but we do it anyway and it's always worth it.

Surrender is scary because it can make us vulnerable but it is so freeing. Recognize your biggest fears and worries and surrender it all. Leave behind your rigid schedule, your yearning to always be the leader, and your damn phone that makes you need to feel connected at every point of the day. Show up late to something every once in a while to do something extra for yourself. Give it all up and know that you do not have to hold on so tightly to everything that makes you feel comfortable. Reaching for the next thing is good and it is still important to be successful, but why should we make this such a stress? So let's all put our pints of Ben and Jerry's in the air and toast to a renewed life of surrender. I promise you it's worth every chunky bite.