Too often do I see and hear about people being unhappy with themselves- whether it be their position in life, their body image, their self-esteem, their grades- there are numerous factors that can affect one's outlook on life and themselves.

To me, the most important factors in my life are three things.

The first being the people close to me and my heart, like my best friend at home who I always find myself missing.
The second factor is my path and direction. I will be incredibly bothered if I know I'm slacking on that paper I have to write or behind in one of my courses.
The third is my attitude. Optimism has dominated my mindset for the majority of my life, but sometimes I can't help but be down, especially at times of night where all I'm left with is my bed, the darkness of my dorm and my thoughts roaming free.

Everyone has rough patches because no one can truly change certain things in their life that are inevitable; these can vary from whether it be the passing of a loved one to not getting the call back for the job you were aching for. But one thing I've learned is that you should always, always, ALWAYS do what is best for YOU. This is the key to happiness that I've discovered long ago, and I want to help others understand this. Let's elaborate a little...

If I'm struggling in certain areas of my life, I try my best to make improvements to my lifestyle. For example, when I first came to my incredible school I was immediately surrounded by plentiful tiny, gorgeous girls. When you're around a lot of attractive people you can't help but compare yourselves to them due to human nature- we're curious and competitive whether we realize and admit to it or not. Since I was pretty unhappy with my image at the time I began to incorporate fitness and healthy eating into my routine again. At home I would have lots of periods of going to the gym, getting fit, and then stopping for some period of time that ranged from weeks to months. When I was confident in my own skin I would be able to walk around not worrying about what people thought of my body image and that's one of the best feelings when you're used to thinking about how your stomach will bulge in that crop top or if your butt will look flat in those jeans. After a few weeks I began adjusting to this and eventually it wasn't dreadful to make time for the gym in the midst of my daily routine- I just knew it was something I had to do.

College classes are a defining adjustment from the likes of grade school. Most people in high school easily absorb information in class for a variety of reasons, the biggest being that your classes were small so you were constantly being watched and expected to pay attention. Also the fact that you did not go into depth nearly as much as high school. Goodbye to the days of sitting through a 40 minute class period and actually fully understanding what was going on. We all know we've ended up looking at our phones for what meant to be a second but ends up being 5 minutes as we miss a couple of lecture slides. College classes generally follow the rule of needing to study 2 hours per credit a week, so your typical 3 credit course would mean 6 hours of studying A WEEK is expected of you (if you're that good at managing your time.. which isn't that often with us new students). But the way to success in your classes lies in the extra effort that you yourself has to make the choice to do! Being comfortable with your classes is SUPER important since you'll be taking them all semester and they won't be leaving you anytime soon. Reaching out to your teachers or TA's, taking advantage of tutors and study centers, or even just getting together with your friends to talk about concepts you've been having difficulty with are all simple ways of improving your understanding. Believe me, you'll be grateful you did when you go to class and that little lightbulb goes off inside that you've been waiting for.

Toxic relationships are also a big thing. Not all toxic relationships are apparent that they have a negative effect on you- like if there's someone at home you're still attached to and makes you happy but you're consistently stressing yourself over them for reasons that ALL have to do with them and their actions? Sayonara. All relations in life, whether they be work-related, friends or lovers; if they're not benefiting you and they're getting a kick out of it (if they truly cared about you these things wouldn't happen), gotta let it go. There are not only toxic relationships but what I like to refer to as draining relationships. Sometimes we keep someone at the top of our life for so long that we're just used to depleting ourselves just to keep them filled up. THIS IS NOT GOOD. If they are happy but you are not, sit back and question yourself, why am I putting their happiness over my own? Truthfully, everyone has a different path in life and if you're preventing yourself from being happy just so they can be this isn't fair to you.
Que sera, sera- what will be will be.
Put your own happiness before others because don't forget this is your life. You will end up unhappy if you're trying to please everyone around you but forget about yourself. Everything will end up how it's meant to be.

Your environment directly affects you all of the time and it's strange to think that some out there have not noticed this! If you're in a negative environment, then remove yourself from it and see how you feel. Sometimes relationships end and their significant others and enter a temporary period of eternal sadness and pain so bad that they forget what it's like to get their mind off of things, laugh with their friends again and just enjoy the simple pleasures of life. If you want that confidence in your body, earn it. If you want to make it into a great college, work for it. If you want to make a difference, get your voice out. I truly do believe that the beauty of life is that you are able to pave your destiny; if you want something bad enough and you work for it hard enough, the universe is bound it grant it to you. Don't believe me? Try it.

It's these little changes in our lives that will lead to endless happiness in the long run.