I hope you never settle.

I mean it in every sense of the word. Don't ever settle for anything in your life. Man or woman, young or old, I hope you never settle for the things in life that don't make you 100 percent happy.

One of my greatest fears in life is settling, accepting an average life, an average love, an average job, an average location, an average support group. I settled a lot when I was younger, because I was too afraid to demand more of my life, and because I didn't believe I deserved more. But the difference now is that I know what I want, and I know I have the power to make it happen. I'm sometimes reserved, afraid to take that leap of faith, and there are sometimes that I still do settle for things when I know I can do better. It's something I'm still working on.

It's hard to be fearless all the time. It's hard to be courageous and speak out for your desires and wants of life. We can talk a big game, say we're going to do all these things and then never do them. It's scary sometimes to go after our dreams, especially if they don't fit the social norm.

I don't know about you, but settling for something in life is an awful feeling. It feels like that thumping heart beat and restless soul are restrained, tied down inside of the rib cage, and that exhilarating feeling of living is halted. It makes you feel as if your dreams and wants of life are too big, and that you can't attain them. I hate that feeling. I avoid it as much as I can. Everyone should as well, because life is too beautiful and too enticing to take less than what we deserve.

I want to live all over the world. I want to live in a tiny beach shack on an ocean, I want a small studio apartment in a city that's going to blow a hole in my bank account, I want a cottage deep in the forest, and I want a lake house to share with my friends and their families. I want to travel all over the world and learn new cultures and traditions, and I want my house (whatever I end up living in) to be decorated with things I collect from my travels.

I want to wake up everyday and do something that I love. I want to have a job that gives back to the world, makes a difference in people's lives, makes me excited to put my skills to the test. I want to be challenged and learn new things everyday to make me better, to create new work, and to enlighten people's perspectives. I want to have a glow about me as I walk down the street with a coffee in my hand on my way to work and have people be like, "Damn, I wish I was that happy."

I want to meet the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. Not necessarily right now, but it is something I want. Romantic love is something that everyone says that they need, that they need to be "completed" to be happy. To say "I'll fall in love" stems from something I want, not something I need, to be happy. I think that's something a lot people struggle with, and because they feel like they need to be with someone, they settle for ordinary, even less-than-average relationships, because they're afraid of being alone. I used to think that I needed to be married to a "hot husband" to be happy, and I settled sometimes; I even thought these awful guys were top-shelf options. But that kind of thinking is dangerous, and thank God I've learned. Loving someone should be something you hold high standards for, know they would never lie, cheat, or disrespect you; it should be something that makes you feel elevated, not dragging you down. I want to find a love that is going to be the most passionate, mind-boggling, challenging kind of love that there is. I never want to settle when it comes to love, because I've seen it with my own eyes, and if I've learned one thing about love, it's that "we accept the love we think we deserve" (S/O to "Perks").

I want my squad to be full of love and support, and that's been something I've been consciously working towards for a few years now. I used to let anyone into my "friends" category, and quite a few of them were toxic bullies. Friends are supposed to make you feel good about yourself, build you up, be your biggest fans, and so often we let people into our lives that really don't deserve our time. Never settle when it comes to friendships: surround yourself with positive people who are going to help you get where you want to be. Your vibe attracts your tribe.

I want to be crafty, innovative and knowledgeable-- do things that make me happy. I want to learn how to surf, and very recently, learn how to cook, and cook well. I want to learn how to knit, how to change a tire, how to keep a plant alive and maybe even start my own garden. I want to paint, know how to spot a good wine and cheese combo, read every good book and watch every good movie that comes my way. I want study astrology and astronomy, learn more about horticulture, learn yoga and actually stick with it. I want to buy a nice bike and be energy efficient. I want to take as many pictures as I can and be able to remember the memories, the feelings captured in my photographs. I want to do fun things with my life, have great hobbies to keep me busy and energized, and most of all, happy.

I hope you've noticed that I've always said the word "want." The life above I've described is something that I want, something that I'm going to have to work hard to achieve, and settling is not part of the life plan. Settling will keep you from moving forward, from meeting new people, going new places, creating the life you want for yourself. So I hope you never settle. I hope you know you're worthy of the life you dream about, and that you have the power alone to make it a reality.