In a matter of 18 (and a half) years I have accomplished and experienced countless life changing events who have molded me, and continue to mold me, into who I am at this very moment. But I feel as though, majority, if not all, of those things would not have been experienced if it were not for my family and the way I was brought up.

I was raised by a family who constantly reminded me to take every opportunity I was handed, to try new things, be brave and accepting and to never take life too seriously. When I was just six days old, my family drove two hours to Avalon, NJ with a newborn in the back seat and a whole lot of unexperienced parenting. But that's the fun of life, learning, and experiencing as you go along. Like the cliché saying, no one hands you a parenting manual when you have a baby, you just kinda...figure it out!!! That's exactly what my parents did and continue to do, to this day. From eating shrimp and eggs when I was probably too young to eat any of that stuff, to choosing a career path or college. I have been pushed to expose myself to different areas, try new things and to never look back once I took off. Now now, this doesn't mean that my parents didn't have rules, or were never strict at points, because how in God's name would you learn any morals or manners?! It means that my parents wanted the best for me and that you will never know whats best (or what is isn't) until you take the opportunities and experience the excitement that life hands to you.

I am writing this to explain and show that "living in a bubble", does not actually mean your "living". A very good friend of mine once told me that to live is to have an exciting and interesting life, not just to be a person waking up every morning and breathing on this earth. This doesn't mean to start going to the extremes and sky diving off of high cliffs and swimming with sharks, I mean if thats what it means to you then great! But...there are little things in life to discover that could change you. Try a new food instead of discouraging it because it looks funny or is from a different culture, you may love it! Shut off your phone or computer and just sit outside and take the beauty of nature in, you will feel so relaxed and stress free!!! There are so many little things that can make you into a happy human, all of them are there, not all of them cost a ton of money (the best things in life are free) and you will see a change in your perspective. But, not all your experiences will be happy and sunshiney but that is the beauty of life. We learn to build ourselves stronger and to accept things we cannot change. For example, My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in May of 2013. I remember being so scared and not knowing if I could handle this type of situation. But with the guidance of my parents they exposed me to the good and bad of it. I learned. I grew. I matured. I was told all news, good or bad and it helped me believe it or not. On the last days of her life, my grandmother was on high doses of pain medication and basically under a medically induced coma.

My parents encouraged me to lay with her, talk to her even though she could not respond, just be with her. So I did just that, I laid with her, held her hand, talked to her about how much I loved her and gave her tons of kisses. Most people do not get to experience or are exposed to such and it truly made me value every day of my life so much more. I have traveled to new countries, changed schools, gone to camps, tried new hobbies, all without my parents holding my hand. I learned to branch off and make new friends easily, to never let anyone hold me back from achieving my dreams. I hear of so many kids whose parents force them to study a certain subject in college so that they can be what THEIR PARENTS want them to be when they grow up! That's insane!!! How can you enjoy life if you don't enjoy what you're doing or just did something because someone said "that's the way ____ has to be"? The answer is you can't.

My parents told me that I could do study whatever I wanted to study as long as I enjoyed it and as long as I had had an idea of what I wanted to possibly do in the future. Contrary to popular belief, that way of treating your child, does not set them up for failure. It sets them up for a life that is lived by making money doing something they enjoy, and then some. Since my life up ahead is not set in stone for me, I have allowed myself to explore my options in life. This way of being raised has allowed me to dream or even possibly make plans of moving to an island area one day, or traveling the world and studying abroad, or even more concrete goals such as working at a children's hospital. Okay okay, now you may be thinking how I turned out to be with all this exposure to life. My answer? Happy.

I am happy because I have my set rules to abide by and simple knowledge that some of my actions will have consequences, but I also now have the ability to truly live. So, to the parents reading this, I am by no means telling you how to raise your child but I am telling you to maybe think...have you let them live? Or have you been keeping them in a bubble? It is okay to let go of their hand sometimes, they can and they will figure life out. To the other, every day, childless people, keep this article as food for thought for you future children. As for yourself, start living. Try a new funky food, wear a daring outfit, make a spontaneous road trip to the beach to see the sunrise, find a job that interests you, travel the world, fall in love, laugh until you cry. Find yourself. Be happy with yourself. START LIVING.

"20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain