Self-improvement is not easy, but it is only as complicated as you make it. That truth has recently become evident to me. Truthfully, I always had the potential to improve myself. The problem was that I made excuses for far too long when I could have been applying myself and putting my effort into making solutions instead of excuses. It only makes sense to follow by such a mantra because as Maya Angelou once said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” However, these kinds of epiphanies only come with self-awareness and a genuine desire to change. Without self-awareness or a desire to change, progress cannot be made.

Some of the people who know me may simply believe that the realizations that have come to my mind came naturally. To those people, I have to respectfully say that is not true. The truth is that this self-awareness came from interacting with my friend, Chris. We certainly had our disagreements and fair share of arguments, but it was through much needed communication in all forms that I finally began to understand my flaws and acknowledge them.

I spent a lot of time making excuses and seeking sympathy. Plus, despite the ways I grew through being involved with Phi Theta Kappa and various organizations on and off campus, I did not truly accept myself. Additionally, I was concerned about people in a way that involved projecting how I think they should act in an overbearing way, I worried too much about the future and what people thought about me, and my disdain towards conflict had negatively affected how openly I communicate my feelings. Furthermore, it did not help me at all to simply agree with what somebody is saying about how I should change. I need to say, “You’re right,” and then proceed to follow up with a plan of action.

I admit that I still have a long way to go; as the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Even so, I am beginning to make progress since I am thinking more about my goals and about how I can implement the advice my friend, Chris, gave me. I am also becoming more confident about dating, making an effort to become more self-aware by reading up on different perspectives on topics such as guilt and masculine and feminine energy, and I now strive to make solutions instead of excuses.

Though I am still far from perfect, I am slowly focusing more on the positive events in my life that will make me happy such as going to the Jersey Shore for my birthday, being able to reunite with some of my friends that I have not seen in some time and beginning work as a transfer student mentor. Ultimately, self-improvement is not a stroll through the park, but it will reinvigorate your life when you begin to think of it as liberation, rather than think of it as a chore. What are you waiting for? Your new life awaits!