"Fitting in" is something that almost everyone struggles with at least once in their life. Personally, I struggled with it from fourth grade all the way through my sophomore year of college. It's never easy when you feel different than your friends, or you never have quite the same interests or priorities as those around you. It's not always about not having friends either, it's more like, I was the exact shape of the piece of the puzzle that was missing, but my piece didn't look right because my piece was actually to a completely different puzzle.

My life changed when I went to cosmetology school. I was immediately surrounded by people that shared my interest in hair, makeup, making people feel good, being sociable and feeling beautiful. When I say, "My experience at Toni & Guy Academy changed my life", I don't mean it as a cliche. I mean, the friends I've made, the teachers I've learned and am learning from, and the techniques I've practiced have all changed me, and that's just since I started in October. Never have I ever met a group of individuals, of a variety of ages, come together as close as we have.

BASICALLY, this was the longest way ever of me telling you what I actually just said to one of my senior (in high school) aged student that sat in my chair today:

DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU. (This is not the equivalent to "do nothing for anyone else"... Very, very different)

Sometimes, it's ok to be selfish.

Do what makes you happy.

Find what makes you feel like you are 100 percent a part of the picture.

Find people that do nothing but boost you up.

Whatever you choose to do after high school, love it, because if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.

And lastly, never ever sell yourself short, because obstacles are going to come, daily, weekly, monthly... of all sizes, but if you are reading this, you have survived 100% of your weakest moment, so congratulations, keep going.

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me with open arms, to everyone that has pushed me up when I wanted to crawl into a hole, and to everyone who has reminded me that "yes, i can".

If this article hasn't given you your fill of cliche, principal of your high school's decade old graduation inspiration quotes, I don't know what would.

Stay beautiful you guys.

Turn can'ts into cans, and dreams into plans.