It didn’t strike me until the end of last semester as I was walking back to my car in the O’Keefe Parking Lot. I was hit with an over-powering emotion. To this day, I’m not entirely sure what that emotion was. All I know is that I had never felt that lighthearted until that point in my life and that everybody should feel that great everyday.

There are some Spring days where we just feel more grateful. Maybe it’s the fresh air getting to our heads. Maybe it’s the colorful scenery surrounding us. Maybe it’s the fact that summer is on the way. Taking all these things into consideration, I tried to think of any possible reason I felt so refreshed. Why did I not care that I looked like an utter fool, smiling by myself, beaming at the cars and people who passed me?

Then, I simply stopped thinking of why. It didn’t matter why. I was happy. I deserved to be. And guess what?

You deserve it too.

Why is it that we do no accept love into our lives with open arms? Why is it that when something goof comes our way, we run in the other direction, back to safety? Why do we see people always following the crowd, forever sticking to the norms our generation has invented?

Be an individual, for Christ’s sake.

Stop trying out-do the guy you see at the gym everyday. Work on you. Stop telling yourself that the girl next to you is prettier than you. Worry about you. Actually, don’t worry at all.

Be who YOU are.

Let me tell you something. I may not know the person who is reading this article right now. Or maybe I do. Either way, I can already tell you that there is no one else in the world like you.

In this life, we can be whoever we want to be. You want to be a writer? Go get a notebook and start writing. You want to be a runner? Get up, put on your sneakers and take off. Stop telling yourself that you can’t do something. STOP. You can do anything you want to do. It might take you longer than others, or it might take you half the time as it does anyone else, but you can do it.

Who am I to preach about this stuff to anyone?

Well, I am one microscopic spec inside of a planet full of people who do not believe in themselves within a galaxy – a galaxy that is ONE spiral out of trillions of other galaxies- inside a universe of which we do not know the dimensions and limitations of.

That is just amazing to think about. Now think about all the time you are wasting feeling down about yourself because someone said or implied to you that you are not worth it.

You. Are. Worth. It.

People are going to make you feel like you are not worth it. Ignore them. Do not listen to them.

Yes, I’ve been called stupid. I have even been told that I was too disorganized and lazy to accomplish certain things. When I was in elementary school, I was bullied. For a while, I listened to all of these insults and criticisms. It took me a long time to realize how irrelevant these words were. I promise you, though. The day you decide to look the other way from the harsh wind of what people think and say, will be the best day of your life.

There will be times where you work so hard and you feel as if no one cares or notices. Don’t do the work for others; do it for yourself. Be proud of what you have accomplished and do not be afraid to show your enthusiasm. No matter how small it may seem to others, I want you to know that it is still a big deal. You should celebrate whatever you want whenever you want. Don't worry about other people's commentary on your life. The only narrative that matters when it comes to your life, comes straight from your voice.

My freshman year of college was a bad year; a year that I quite honestly did not think I was going to make it out of. This was because I did not want to make it out. I focused on every negative aspect I could and I could not see the light in any situation. I kept telling myself that I was not enough. I told myself awful things. Telling myself those things got me absolutely nowhere. It only got me deeper into the hole I was stuck in.

We all get stuck in dark areas in our life. That does not mean we belong in that place.

I wish I could go back in time and shake the sixteen year-old version of myself and scream into her face, “this too shall pass!” I wish I could visit the eighteen year-old version of myself, sulking in her dorm room and tell her to get out of bed and that time is ticking away.

My public speaking professor last semester, Brianne Beatrice, made a life-changing impact on me. She would point to the clock in the classroom and remind us at the end of every class, “that’s not stopping”. As time is moving faster, I see how necessary really living is.

I can’t get back the time I wasted. No one can. All we can do is make up for it by spending our days loving ourselves. There is no reason you should not love yourself. Own who you are and flaunt it.

At the beginning of class, strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you. Do not be afraid. If that person does not want to talk to you, then that is their loss because they missed out on the unique entity that is you.

The reason I write this is because I have seen so much hate being generated lately. There are too many people going out of their way to put others down. What are you doing? Lift people UP. The world does not owe you a blessed thing. Stop throwing yourself that pity party. There is just no time for it. You have so much value and so much potential and so many things that you have to offer the world. This is your life.

No matter what you are going through right now – no matter what it is – I promise that if you want to get out of it, you will. It won’t be easy at first, no. It never is. But once you get past the threshold and jump over the barrier of low self-esteem you are going to enter a world where you cannot wait to wake up in the morning and see what is in store for you that day. I promise, and I speak from experience, that there is no better feeling than when you finally get out of that dark place you and reach a place you never imagined you could be in.

Being yourself shouldn’t be a fear. It shouldn’t be hard work. Just simply be. Don’t be afraid that people are looking at you. Yea, they are looking at you. They’re looking at the gym, at work, in class, on the train and even when you’re driving. Give them something to look at. Smile at them. Say hello. Be a human. You are worth it. Tell yourself that every morning when you wake up and every night before you go to sleep. Eventually, you will believe it. Only when you believe it, will it become a fact.

Believe in yourself, be loud and be bold.