Once upon a time, I thought I had it all together.

Spoiler alert: I didn't.

The other day, through odd moments of nostalgia and crying over old Facebook photos – it's probably just PMS, don't worry – I had a few moments of enlightenment.

Look at a picture of yourself from a few years back, and remember that time: how different things were – from the people you were with, the things you did, everything you were afraid to do, to how much you believed you knew all you needed to know.

Then, of course, life would throw a curve ball – as it tends to do – and you'd find yourself lost, alone, and everything you thought you knew was a lie.

But there's another picture, from a few years later, when you – even though it used to seem impossible – figured it all out.

You got a little wiser, a little tougher, a little stronger.

That's what you do.

The next time you encounter a situation where you feel lost and don't know where to go, don't be scared.

You'll figure it out – you always have.

A few years down the line, you'll look back at your current profile picture – if you haven't deleted it by then – and realize how much you didn't know before.

You'll be proud of who you are now, and how far you've come.

You will know that everything you have been through has brought you to where you are today – and that you are not done growing up.

You never are: you still have so much to learn and experience, every day.

Don't be afraid – embrace everything you go through. Don't hold back from feeling every emotion, saying every word you feel needs to be said, and just living in that moment.

That's how you'll learn, that's how you'll get stronger, that's how you'll get better.

Nobody can take you down.

You're learning from every second, and growing from each one.

Need proof? Look back at a picture from a couple of years ago: look at how far you've come.