Fact: Know one knows you better than yourself.

Often times, we tend to be too caught up in the opinions of others, and we loose sight of who we really are, whether it means going out of our way to impress our bosses, friends, and co-workers, being completely who you are can be difficult at times.

Here is a short story about a girl named Maria. She finds out how important it is to continue to let her character speak for herself ,verses being caught up in the views of others.

Maria is a small town girl from Michigan who naturally loves making others happy. She is loved by many and despised by few, but the "few" did not bother her since she was constantly around those that she knew loved her. One day, she came across a big problem with one of her recently made friends named Riley. Now, Riley was a bit of a character, and at times it could be hard to read whether or not she was happy, but nevertheless there was something that Maria liked about Riley that kept them as friends. Out of the blue, Riley began to change. What once was a big talk and many laughs, became solemn hello's and hi's. What once was invites and eventful gatherings, became no invitations or inquiries. Maria was having a hard time trying to figure out what she could have done wrong to cause for Riley to change all of a sudden. After trying to reach out to her countless times, she finally just let it go. In the process of her trying to gain a friend back that was never truly her friend, Maria began to loose sight of her identity.

Bending over backwards for someone who does not want to be your friend leaves you as the only one hurt in the end. Somethings are just better left alone than bothered. Remember to always stay true to yourself because your identity is at stake whenever you compromise.