Recently, I returned back from a beach vacation in Daytona Beach Shores. My mom, sister, aunt, and I drove a whopping 30 hours round trip from Illinois to Florida. We had the time of our lives and enjoyed soaking up the sun, sand, and ocean. The sight was beautiful and the view of the beach in our backyard never got old. As our vacation quickly came to an end, we were sad to leave the salty sea and tall palm trees. However, on our last day in paradise, Mother Nature yet again amazed me with her beauty.

It was bright and early Friday morning that my sister dragged me out of bed to go watch the sunrise on the beach. Feet dragging and yawning, I had enough time to put my contacts in and we were off. Luckily, in the condo where we were staying, the beach was just a short walk. Coffee in hand, my sister and I made the short stroll to the cool, white morning sand and calm waves.

To my surprise, there were quite a few people on the beach at 6 o'clock in the morning. Somewhere having a morning walk or run while others were watching the sunrise like us. We walked up and down the shore waiting for the sun to make its appearance. I was excited as I had only ever seen the sunset on a beach before and we were told that we HAD to see the sunrise, too.

We waited for about 30 minutes and then, the beauty appeared, the sunrise.

I was amazed.

The view was remarkable and not like anything I had seen before. Of course, my sister and I had to snap so quick photos, but then we put our phones away to reminisce in the scenery and truly take in the view.

I then started to think about the beauty of Earth and what this beautiful sunrise taught me.

Watching the sunrise taught me that it's so important to live in the now and keep true to yourself.

Most of us, and even myself, tend to take the beauty of nature for granted. Nowadays, we are so caught up on impressing others or trying to be the best of the best. We are always so worried about the materialistic side of things like how many likes or retweets our Instagram posts and tweets can get. We tend to forget to think about and live in the now. Instead, we try to express and portray ourselves in a certain way on social media that may not reflect on who we truly are in person just to impress others or even "one-up" someone else. This way of life is not only fabricated, but it's self-deprecating, too.

So, instead of trying to make something out of your life that it may truly not be on profiles like social media, I challenge you to be exactly who you are.

Take a lesson from Mother Nature and her gorgeous sunrises. Live life in the now and be real. Be you.

The real you is as beautiful as an early morning sunrise on the beach and you deserve the same appreciation that our Earth does. So, in the end, not only love yourself but love our Earth, too. You never know what lessons she may be trying to teach you.