People are constantly changing who they are, who they want to be and what they believe. From freshman year of high school to now I have grown in more ways than I ever would have expected; some for better, some for worse. I am not the overly excited and bubbly person that I was anymore, but I am wiser from my experiences with life's hurdles.

I have tried to savor the youthful innocence that resembles my personality in its purest form because I thought it might have gotten lost along the way. It is really easy to lose touch with yourself after being roughened up and calloused by hardships. But, the goal is to embrace change and experience everything you should; including new people. And also, to stop and think about the person you are creating.

I have been stuck in a rut before; when I did not like any aspect of my life. My friends were rude, school was boring, my health was declining and every day felt like torture. What I did not realize was that the people I was around were causing me a lot of this unhappiness. The ones who I thought were my friends had turned toxic and poisoned my energy with negativity. I am the type of person who cannot leave any kind of relationship very easily. I had never had to escape my group of friends before, but in this case, it was crucial.

It is very brave to leave friends that you no longer want in your life. These people were my only group of friends at the time, so for the first time in my life, I was completely friendless. My senior year of high school was the worst year for me. But now that I am in college I am so proud of myself for what I did. I met new people at school who are more kind to me than I deserve, my classes are very interesting and I am in better shape than ever with my cross country team. My life completely turned around for me after I graduated high school, and I am so grateful.

The first step for any of that change to happen was to let go of the toxic people. Whether you know it or not, they could be discouraging you from achieving your dreams or even being a healthier, better version of yourself. The energy that they emit toward you may be hostile and cold. They are weighing you down and might enjoy the feeling of hurting you. You need to stand up for yourself and free your soul from their grasp; to let it breathe and grow. That is the only way you can learn from the experience and become wiser because of it.

Your soul is precious. If anyone wants to make you feel inferior, the door is wide open. They are standing in the place of people who could be encouraging you, supporting you and actually caring about your well-being. There is a whole variety of new and inspiring people who are waiting to enter your life once you clear out the clutter. If your life feels like it needs a make-over, the people you surround yourself with may be the first thing to go.