When you hear the word "hippie" you probably associate it with a dirty-haired man wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt smelling of burnt out weed. However, that's not always the case.

A google search of the word "hippie" will tell you it's a person "of unconventional appearance" who might dabble in hallucinogenic drugs. Urban dictionary refers a hippie as someone who promotes love and peace and is anti-government. While those definitions may have held some truth in the 60's, they aren't necessarily true in today's time. At least, they shouldn't be.

Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator

Being a hippie is about having a certain self-awareness and state of mind. It's about loving yourself and those around you. You can't claim to be a hippie yet be filled with self-hatred or hatred/bitterness towards others. A real hippie is at peace with herself and constantly striving to be at peace with her environment. It's about being aware of the things you need to change within your own mindset in order to find peace within.

The modern day hippie is comfortable enough with her own skin to be seen in public with a bare face and natural hair and be unashamed. If anything, she should feel the most free in her natural state. Hippies in today's time find comfort in nature and a sense of calmness when left in their own company.

Keeping an open view to the world around them, a hippie tries to refrain from judgement. They are aware that everyone is uniquely different and that's what makes the world so beautiful. A hippie also understands that if what another person does in his or her life does not affect their own life, it is not their business. They are so busy trying to make their own life and the world around them beautiful, they don't have time to judge the way someone else chooses to live.

A hippie in today's time is so much more than the stereotype, and it should be focused on self-improvement and making the world a better and more peaceful place. We are ever-evolving and working on ourselves. Whether that be through having your own garden or smiling at strangers, you can be a self-proclaimed hippie so long as you strive every day to keep the peace and relentlessly love those around you.