We spend a lot of time apologizing. Apologizing for messing up, for making a mistake, for hurting someone, but worst of all, apologizing for being ourselves.

After a long few years of constantly apologizing, I have decided that I am done and you should be, too.

We are ourselves. We can be the best that we can be and that's all we can do. You need to stop apologizing for that, stop giving in to people who want you to be something else. Who want to hold you down.

I will not apologize for being myself. I won't apologize for who I am, what I do, what I wear, what I choose -- as it relates to me, of course. There is a massive difference between owning yourself, and deciding that you do not need to be sorry for who you are, and simply being careless and not owning up to your actions. As a full disclaimer to the rest of this piece, the actions and traits I speak about are the ones that affect me -- I am not, by any means, saying that if my choices may hurt, harm, or endanger anyone else, that I will do it anyway, without an apology. And with that, I go on.

I have admitted that I can be reckless. I have an impulsive personality; I don't always think my actions through to the degree they may warrant. I make some decisions on a whim, I follow my gut, and I run after it. I have decided to do something crazy at 10 a.m. in the morning and by 3 p.m. that day, I find myself doing what I never thought possible.

I make bold beauty choices. I wear a darker lip than the event requests, I occasionally wear false eyelashes simply to travel. Likewise, I go without makeup because sometimes I really just do not feel like it. And I do not care.

I have a unique fashion sense. I see a piece in a store that some people might question, I grab it, and I buy it. I'm not a cookie cutter prep, I don't have impeccable Parisian style. I don't have one style, and my outfits range from "I have no money" to "I think I'm going to the Balmain show but I'm actually going to class." And I do not care.

I have strong opinions on certain things. Sometimes I'll choose to speak my voice and fight my position until death, and other times, I refuse to discuss. I stray away from talking about politics, but if you push my buttons, I won't give up. This is my choice, and I have my reasons. I am not sorry.

I will not stand bullshit, lies, or absurdity. I will likely call you out if you are being unreasonable or unfair. I believe in being real, not fake, and I refuse to stoop to that level.

I make choices that might be unpopular. I'm not always in favor of the majority, and I know someone will always dislike what I do. I can't please everyone, so I please myself.

On the other hand, I care too much sometimes. I have a huge heart, almost to a fault. Genuine pain hurts me, and I will not ignore that. I will not turn my back on someone in need, even if they have wronged me. I give the benefit of the doubt too often, and in turn, I can get burned. People have warned me about this, but I do not care. I will not apologize for who I am, for what and whom I care about.

I can be overly emotional. I cry too much, I get upset over ridiculous things. I put my own feelings into random people on the street, into random animals on the street. Animals. People will tell me that I'm being ridiculous, but still, I won't apologize.

I publish my feelings, my life, and my words online. I publish my darkest thoughts and secrets, my darkest past, on a mass media platform, for everyone I know, and don't know, to read. People might not like it, people might think I need to keep things to myself. But these things help to heal me, they help me work through pain. Furthermore, they have helped those that I love, and I know that. So I will not apologize for these declarations any longer. I will not apologize for trying to do my best.

I chase the impossible, I dream too big, and I search for happiness where I will never find it. I try to heal myself from the outside sometimes when I can only heal myself from within.

I believe that I'm honest and true to myself. I don't try to portray myself as something I'm not. I think that the harder you try to hide yourself, the easier you become to spot, the more people can read you like an open book. I will not lie, I will not say I'm perfect. I won't say I haven't faced adversity, I won't say I haven't made mistakes, I won't say that I know it all.

Not all of my choices are the best for the situation, not all of my choices are perfect. They are human and they are real; however, I will not apologize, not to someone else. I will apologize to myself, for not giving myself the best I might have deserved.

I am who I am who I am. And that is all that I can be. I won't apologize for being me any longer, and you shouldn't either.