Everybody comes from somewhere, whether it's a large neighborhood or a small one, a public school or private, a rich neighborhood or a poor one, but that doesn't define you. The stereotypes that have been built up that define "your kind of people" don't define who you are as a person.

Speaking from personal experience, I was never the richest or the coolest person around. I never had the Razor cell phone, Converse, or a Wii when everyone else did. I always felt as though I was associated with my income and my house and not having all of the cool brands that everyone else had. Middle and High School are a tough time when you aren't fitting in just right with everyone else and that is where the problem starts. The moment someone feels like you don't belong for whatever reason it is easy to give up. It is easy to point fingers and just blame it on not having the things that others have. It is easy to listen to what everyone else calls you and not what you know you are.

I struggled with these mentalities for a long time until college came and changed me. When I got to college I realized that there were people there on all types of loans and scholarships who come from all different types of family situations. I realized that there were other people who didn't have strong relationships with their parents similar to me. I realized that there were other people there that didn't feel like they belonged at home or at all. I realized that it didn't matter.

Finally getting comfortable at school I realized that my past didn't matter. I wasn't my home situation. I had the chance to start fresh and I could build my character around who I wanted to be and not who my family was or what I came from. I had the chance to be independent and my friends could choose me and I didn't always have to choose them.

This new way of thinking is how I found the great group of friends that I'm a part of now and how I found my boyfriend. I didn't have to be one type of person in order for these people to like me. They like me for who I am. They like me for my 20 different laughs, my inability to stay awake when watching movies, my caring personality and everything else. You aren't your home situation no matter how hard it is, or how dark it is. You are who you are because of what you decide to make yourself.

So my final words here are this. If there is someone out there worrying about what people will think of you because of where you came from, stop worrying. Stop worrying because there will come a time in your life when you feel like you can finally be the person that you have always been but in a way that is free of judgment and worry. You can live the life that you have been living even fuller because there aren't any weights, labels, or situations holding you back and it is the best feeling in the world.