My 21st year of life was the most memorable and progressive. I took the chance to study in Ireland for a month, I planned a wedding, I purchased a puppy, I moved into my own place with my fiance, I fully paid off my car and I will graduate in just two months. Until this year, I was under the impression that I could not achieve anything without the help of adults who knew the way of life. Now, I understand that nothing gets done until you get it done.

Life is expensive, life is stressful, and life is emotional. The faster you take on the obstacles of your existence, the faster you will learn how to deal with them the next time they come around. I have rid myself of the people who decided they are okay with non-progression in their life. I refuse to give in to negative mindsets and will not participate in motivating them. After all, you can't help someone who doesn't want to help them self.

Upon returning from Europe, I experienced the overconfidence that I was warned of prior to leaving the country. By no means am I superior to anyone, but I can't help but feel as though others cannot relate to me because they have not experienced what I have. Rather than making this a negative aspect of my time abroad, I chose to view it as a growth opportunity. While alone in a new culture, I learned to navigate unfamiliar locations, understand new terms and become optimistic about foods and events that I would never participate in back at home. When taking my own initiative to go abroad, I enabled the power within myself to understand that I alone am capable of almost anything.

When you feel comfortable, remind yourself that you aren't stimulating your abilities as much as you could be. I have been taught to "Never stand still". If you want to see a change in your health, your career, or your social life, you have to make a change in the way you do things. Considering new options even if they scare you and present yourself with confidence in every new situation until that self-assurance becomes a reality.

Do not pity yourself when times get rough, and don't believe that others will be there to pick you up when you haven't taken the initiative to do it yourself. If you are not scared of the risks taken to become successful, you are not risking enough.