Life gets hard, that's inevitable and sometimes we, as individuals, lose sight of the big picture-we lose ourselves. It's almost human nature to get caught up in the chaos that whirls around us. I think what we need to remind ourselves is that it's okay to take a step back and reset your focus-become your own best friend.

Sometimes, I wish I could go back and tell my younger self all the things I know now. I wish I could just tell myself that the drama around me really wasn't going to last forever and the people who I imagined would always be in my life were merely a page out of a chapter in my life. As I have gotten older, my hindsight truly has become 20/20 and I wish I would have focused more on healthier aspects of my life, the aspects that would have helped me stay happy and uplifted. It truly is a scary feeling, when you start to lose yourself slowly, by surrounding yourself around those minuscule parts of life that just seem so relevant at the time. Losing who you've worked so hard to become doesn't have to happen but it can happen so easily.

Take a step back. Look at yourself. Evaluate your happiness.

As we get older I think it's important to realize that it's okay to cut the dead ends off of yourself (not just hair). Sometimes, we need to reset our values and truly get back in tune with who we are. Be your own best friend. At the end of the day, nobody is going to care more about your well being and your honest happiness other than you. Now, this isn't to say that people don't care about you but people will never care as much as you. Stay in tune with yourself, find and make your own happiness.

I love the saying "you can't see the forest through the trees" because it is such an accurate statement. When you're constantly living in a situation, you might not be able to see how much it is truly affecting you-step back and collect yourself. Introspecting is key.

I don't regret the choices I've made (too much) because they've been such powerful lessons for me. Going into my senior year of college, I am in a spot where I have grasped becoming my own best friend-I am definitely more in tune with myself. A weight has been lifted off my back, after collecting myself and evaluating the things and people in my life around me. Deciding that things aren't meant for me has been a difficult task however, I have learned to trust my gut. Sometimes, cutting the negativity out of my life is another stress in itself but at the end of the day, I want what's best for myself and my overall health.

My aspiration is to be truly and genuinely happy and that is something only I am capable of doing for myself. I don't count on other people to be my only source of happiness. I don't count on materialistic items to be my happiness. I make my happiness.