This may seem cliche, but I mean it in more ways than just the typical “you have the choice to determine the end,” albeit that’s still part of it. In some weird way, our life is our own personal novel, or at least a collection of essays. Our memories are the stories that make it up. The people we know, whether we love them, hate them, or see them on the street every Wednesday morning, are the characters. Every up, down, twist, and turn is another plot twist. That leaves you to be the main character. Don’t let yourself forget though, that everyone around you is a main character in their own story.

Each of our stories starts out with an introduction. Just like the characters in novels, once we get introduced, we somehow begin crafting our own elaborate story. Some of us have very similar introductions. We start existing, we have a name, and just like that we begin living. Some of us, however, have a slightly more complicated introduction. Regardless of the complexity, we settle into this new life and begin our stories just the same.

New experiences, whether you remember them or not, are part of this book. Things that happen in your childhood will exist into adulthood because they are written into the story. You may not exactly remember why you hate water or the smell of blueberries, but if you could read far enough back, it’s possible that you could have your answer. Both good and bad will be present for the rest of your life, and even though the negative experiences will vie for your attention more often than not, the beautiful experiences will still be there for you to lean on. Just because there is part of a novel that is sad or frustrating, it doesn’t make the whole novel necessarily ‘bad’ because there will be more parts in the book that will make you happy or in love or make you feel endlessly hopeful.

The characters in your story are a little more difficult to understand. In many books, the reader will have some idea of the intentions of those surrounding the main character. Somehow this still manages to relate to your personal book. People who look from the outside will often see things happen before you do, even though you are closest to what is going on. Some people in life will have an extensive effect on your story and characters will often come and go. These characters or the very world around you may make this decision for you, but you may also have to do that part on your own when you realize a character may do more harm than good. For some people, this is easy, one strike and that person is out. For the people like me, we have to think for a while. Writing someone out of your story isn’t something to be done over the morning paper, however, it may need to be done at some point. You must keep in mind that this is your story and that you’re the main character. If something could potentially harm you, it would be best to try and eliminate the issue.

is writing and living their own story. Getting advice in life is nothing to be ashamed of. Authors need help if they want things to make sense. The same goes to you, a writer in your own sense. Yes, you make the decisions. You live your life the way you feel is right, but you’ll need help in some way or another. You’re the main character, not the only character. We may all have different stories, but we’re all part of the same library. We exist in the same universe on the same world, but at the same time all of our worlds are vastly different. Nevertheless, your life is a story in progress and my challenge to you is to write yourself your very own best seller.