In my 18 years of being on Earth, I have had a lot of things happen to me that made me who I am today. As much of a pain I know I can be sometimes, I will never apologize for who I am and here's why.

Growing up in a small town can be really hard sometimes. Everyone knows everyone and all of their business. There's not much room for growth or for being different because small towns hold so much tradition. I have never been the traditional type and that came and still comes, with a lot of backlash. I have always been the one that loves to stand out in a crowd and make it known that I am there. I love being different and I embrace it and I express myself however I want and I will never apologize for that. It is important to be yourself and express yourself however you please even if it's not how other people want. Never apologize for being and loving who you are.

Nobody knows your struggles and hardships as you do. Nobody has experienced your life as you have. What goes on in our lives shapes us into who we are as a person. Every day we experience and learn something new. These experiences break us and build us and reshape us into a new person every single day and that is an amazing thing to think about. Never apologize for who you are now because tomorrow you could be a completely new person. Love the you, you are now because they could disappear within a matter of minutes.

We are all unique human beings and should embrace the qualities that make us different just as much as we embrace the ones that make us similar. We look up to people like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Jeffree Star, and other amazing celebrities that literally make a living off being different. If the biggest celebrities don't apologize for being different, why should you? Don't let anyone tell you that you should stay inside a tiny box that meets their standards. Set your own standards and then reset them and reset them again. Emma Stone once said "What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden and it's not. And a lot of the time, it's what makes you great." Never stop changing and never apologize for who you are.