When I was in high school, I was very involved in an organization called YoungLife. This organization taught me so much about myself, and loving others and loving Jesus, too.

During my senior year thought, I began to asked myself, "Why do I love YoungLife so much?"

And I have come to the decision that it was not because I loved Jesus or I felt closer to him when I was there, but it was because I fit in when I was doing YoungLife things. A lot of people that do YoungLife love the Lord with all their hearts just like I do, but they love a lot of others things, too, a lot of things that I loved. And they were all just looking for Jesus or something to belong to. We were all just lost.

And that is why I fit in. Because I was just as broken and lost and confused as the whole rest of the lot.

I do not think YoungLife ever made me love Jesus more than I did before, because I learned to love Him more all by myself.

YoungLife made me fit in. I had a group of friends who were generally happy and attractive. People like that are generally well liked and people wanted to be around them. So in turn, people wanted to be around me.

Aren't a lot of things in life like that?

You join a sports team to fit in.

You date a boy or a girl to fit in.

You join a club to fit in.

You get a job so you'll have money so you fit in.

You start partying to fit in.

You do drugs to fit in.

But what is the point?

Why do you try so hard to fit in? What's it worth? What does it add to your life?

Nothing. It adds nothing at all.

Because one day you will look at yourself in the mirror and you will not know who you are. You will not recognize yourself because you tried so hard to fit in. You changed yourself so other people will accept you and will want to be around you.

You fix your hair extra special so that one boy in your math class will notice you. But if he does not notice how beautiful your tangly natural curls are, then he does not deserve to notice you at all.

You dress nicely so that really pretty girl in your class compliments you. But then she does not. And you second guess yourself. You thought your outfit was cute, and you thought she would like it. But she did not. Or she is too vain to admit that you are pretty, and maybe even as pretty as her.

You just keep trying to fit in.

And then you lose yourself.

And at the end of the day, what does all this give you? Adoration? Affirmation?

You fit in, so maybe your friends will like you more.

Let me let you in on a secret. You were not made unique just so you could straighten your beautiful curls to look like everyone else. You were not given a great sense of humor just to hide it for fear of not being funny (because you are beautiful and funny, in case you didn't know).

You are original and special and you are made exactly how you were supposed to be.

Stop trying to change it and just be you.