Recently, when browsing online scholarships to apply for, I came across a scholarship with the required essay titled "How to improve your personality". I have to say, I was quite taken aback by the title, and also slightly confused. However, then I started to think more carefully as to what this actually means, and that there is so much to this prompt.

You see, I have always believed that you are who you are for a reason. Personality: it is what makes you, you. Your personality contributes to your life greatly and in all kinds of ways. It impacts which coffee drink you chose from the Starbucks menu this morning. It impacts how others view you. It impacts which Spotify playlist you chose to play on the way to work this morning. Put all of the above things together and combine them with all the hundreds of other aspects of you, and you have your personality. It can honestly be quite a terrifying thing. The great news, however, is that your personality can always be improved, but only by you yourself.

How do you want to be seen? Do you want to be seen as ambitious? Do you want to seem funny? Do you want to be the "cool guy/girl"? How you want to be viewed by your peers probably has a lot to do with your values and ideals in this life. For example, if you want to be seen as the athletic type, you probably have great interest in sports, and you probably idolize a variety of professional athletes. However, is it possible to be a big sports fan and also not have an athletic bone in your body? Of course it is. I hate to break it to you, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you may not succeed at a given task. Not everyone can throw a football as perfectly as Tom Brady. Not everyone can belt out a verse as beautifully as Taylor Swift.

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and we do not necessarily choose these. We can, however, choose to improve our strengths, and minimize our weaknesses as best we can. Maximize on what you are good at. Take advantage of your talents and utilize them to the best of your ability. If you're good at running, try a 5K. Then try a 10K. Then try a half marathon. Before you know it, you'll be a marathon runner. This is just one of a thousand examples you could apply to your own life.

In life, not everyone is going to like you. Absolutely everybody has had negative experiences with others, but absolutely everybody has also had positive experiences with others. I am a firm believer that above all, you must stay true to yourself. Those who matter will not mind, and those who mind don't matter.

What I am trying to say, and what it all boils down to, is that you are stuck with yourself for the rest of your life. Make the most of it. Not to be cliche, but in a world in which you can be anything, be yourself.