In elementary school, I can always recall my teachers asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was six, I told her that I wanted to be a fashion designer. By the time I turned nine, my answer changed to wanting to be a teacher. My ideas kept on transforming, but to me, it didn't matter. I thought that I could be whatever I wanted to because that's what we had always been told.

No dream would ever be too big for us to achieve, and while this encouragement at a young age was inspiring, they had never mentioned not all of us would have the same opportunities and chances. With age, I learned that life isn't easy and you can't get what you want just by snapping your fingers. Some have it easier than others, but I believe that the journey means more than the destination.

There is beauty in the struggle. Nothing that comes easy is ever really worth it. I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to go to college and obtain a degree in my desired profession. Sometimes I take that for granted.

College isn't a walk in the park but it's my time to give it my best shot. I give immense amounts of credit to those who work in school to pay for it or take out loans to go after what they want. College might not be in the cards for everyone but that doesn't mean that they are not destined to do great things. Degrees open doors and fulfill requirements for positions, though contrary to popular belief, they aren't everything.

You could be born into success, knowing that your whole life is set up for you or you could be born with having to work for what you want. You don't get to chose your circumstances but you do get to chose how you live with them. I always notice the hardworking people who put their all into everything that they do. The people that work their way to the top, not expecting anything to be handed to them, are the kind of people that have the most incredible journeys.

Whenever I come across someone who has fulfilled their goal, all that races through my mind is wondering how they got to that point. I commend the people that go out there and put their every last effort into pursuing their dreams. The roadblocks and pit-stops along the way only make the destination more beautiful in the end.

I admire the aspiring actors, the struggling artists, the kid working to put themselves through college and the ones who go straight into the workforce. As I continue on my own journey, I will remind myself that no matter what life throws at me, I will face it with adversity. The best stories have their lows before their highs and I want my story to be a good one.