I’ve always been someone who would seek advice from important people in my life when it comes to making decisions. I’ll be honest and say that I used to feel that I needed reassurance from people who mattered to me when making those decisions. In the past, my dad would always tell me to trust myself and do whatever I felt was best for me. Until recently, his advice would leave me more confused than I was before I asked him. I wanted him to make my decisions for me because he has more life experience and I thought he knew what was best for me. It is true that he knows what’s best for some situations, but when decisions are regarding my life choices, he and I might have different ideas on what’s best.

College has made me a very autonomous person, but it wasn’t an easy process. During my freshman year of college, I called my dad every single day asking for his advice and help with making decisions about topics that he had little knowledge about while he was eight hours away. During my sophomore year, something changed. I still talked to my dad frequently, but I stopped asking him for help with making decisions and started taking risks. I’ll admit that I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot from those mistakes. With these mistakes, I’ve become more confident and sure of myself.

In the past when someone questioned a decision I made, I might’ve stopped and wondered if that decision was really a good idea. Now, I don’t let other people’s opinions dictate my life. Sometimes not letting other people get to you is easier said than done, but you’ll never be happy if you live your life based on other people’s opinions. Recently, I’ve made some major decisions regarding my future that some people don’t agree with, but all that matters is my happiness.

In the end, I’ll always have myself to count on, so if I were to live my life based on someone else’s ideas, I know I wouldn’t be happy with myself. My message for anyone else who struggles with people putting their noses and negative opinions where they’re not wanted is, forget them and focus on what makes you happy. If they’re really a good friend or even a family member, they’ll support you with whatever decision you make.