In many ways, social media has given me a voice this year that I never had before. Sharing my thoughts through my writing with others has helped me grow in more ways than I thought. Many of my dreams, fears, and goals have been on full display for everyone to see and I've been able to share a lot more about who I am.

I've always been into social media. I'm always editing or taking pictures of things I find cool and interesting. Lately, though, I've realized just how much I hide behind a screen. I spend so much time and energy trying to create the perfect image of myself. I delete anything I don't think goes with my feed and just saying that makes me cringe. The reality is, no one spends that much time looking at me or my life. There's really no need to curate everything about myself to such an extent.

Despite knowing this, when I look at the identity I've created for myself, I feel a sense of control. It is empowering to be able to control people's first impression of you. However, this doesn't justify the amount of time I've wasted caring about likes or views. The time I could have spent studying, exploring a new area, working out, and spending time with friends.

This winter break, I really want to just take the time to reset. Social media interferes with a whole lot. I want to take time to focus on my relationships with my family and friends and to find a sense of motivation in my schoolwork that I seem to have lost. The moments I spend drinking tea with my mom and hearing about her day or jamming with my sister to our favorite songs on the way to McDonald's are so precious and I'm never going to get those back.

What you see on social media is far from reality. I think that at the back of our minds but we choose to believe in it anyway. People don't always have their shit together, even those you think that do.

As a reminder to myself as much as everyone else who needs to hear it: there are people in this world that love you for you, no matter how many followers you have or how pretty or popular you are. There are people who see you, the good, the bad and the in-between and accept you with all of your shortcomings and flaws.

But just as importantly, at the end of the day, those superficial qualities don't matter as much as your contributions to the world. It is impossible to be liked by everyone but it is possible to be respected by most. Do things that mean something to others. Make a real difference in someone else's life. Those who do so are happier than those who spend their lives wondering what people will think.

I hope we can all bring a bit of this mindset into the new year as we look towards the future.