For many people, the hardest thing in the world can be accepting you for who you genuinely are and identifying your weaknesses.

Over the past few summers, I have been able to isolate myself and come to terms with who I am and the type of person I want to be, and also the type of life I want to live. It all started with me truly accepting who I was, being able to critique myself, and allowing God to work in me.

In the end, I realized that I had to come out of my shell, embrace my true self, and become transparent. I had to become ok with exposing myself and being open to the criticism and judgement that came along with it. I also knew that by allowing myself to become vulnerable it gave others the opportunity to experience another side of me that was, what I considered, unorthodox.

I had to become comfortable with sharing my mind, thoughts, and feelings. Deep down I knew that at least one person could relate to what I had to offer.

Optimism is only as good as the person who provides it. I always considered myself to be very optimistic about life and people. But if I wasn't surely confident in myself and in my own abilities, how could I provide that same optimism to others and not truly believe in it within me? I knew then that I was not as optimistic as I thought I was or sought out to be.

By opening up myself and stepping outside the box soon made it easier to reflect the positivity and creativeness that I wanted to show.

By no means do I consider myself to be perfect or to have a clear perception of life, however, I do feel more comfortable with embracing the flaws of myself. I know that I still have a lot of living to do and wisdom to gain from experiencing what life has to offer. Being vulnerable to a world of judgment is definitely not an easy task.

Some days I'll find myself wanting to go back and hide underneath that shell and let my pride takeover, only to hurt myself and those around me. Despite the struggle of it, I know that there is a greater good in the end.

When people realize that, as a person, you are genuine, transparent, and honest they become more open to you. This openness leads to a beautiful long-lasting friendship or relationship.