You're young. You're free. You have the world at your feet, awaiting your next step. And you will take that step. And you will move. And you will grow. And you will learn about yourself. And that is one of the most beautiful aspects of being alive.

This is that time.

On your journey of self-discovery, you will begin to kill the parts of you that were surviving off of other people's wishes and expectations. Pieces that thrived off of other people's perceptions will drown. The version of you that everyone believed to be true will perish, and your authentic self will be the remnants. Get comfortable with this. It is all you truly have.

This is a beautiful and graceful process. You must treat yourself with love and allow yourself to shed the covers others have donned you in. Unless they feed your advancement and add beauty to your life, mute the voices of your past. Recognize the people who are around for convenience and comfortability rather than genuine connections and deeper relationships.

Whatever the reason may be, if, during the process of discovering yourself, you fail to find someone deserving of a spot in your life, do not put energy into salvaging the relationship for the wrong reasons.

Your life is constantly evolving, it is only natural, in fact healthy, that the people change too. Do not damage your self-progression in the name of mending an unhealthy connection.

As time passes, you will realize it pays to be selfish. If someone is holding you back from reaching your happiness, your comfortability with your pure self, then let them go. Do not wish them harm and do not part without being gracious for the time you have had their presence, but do not be afraid to outgrow.

This is something I have struggled with. But this is something we must accept as we grow. We must learn to let go. We must learn to find who we are underneath the layers of what people thought us to be. And we must understand that it is necessary to outgrow. To outgrow means you are growing, and that is a beautiful gift of life.