Walking through high school, you see an array of people. Crowds of tall kids, cliques of teenage girls talking among their friends, couples walking next to each other while holding hands and few in far between, the lone wolf, walking alone in the crowd of people.

In high school, you are labeled a pointless name, and you live your high school life based on that title. You can be labeled a "cool kid," becoming one of the most popular and well-known kids in school, you can be a "freak" or "weird," being rarely invited places unless it's to hang out with other "weird" kids. You can be a "jock," which is generally a popular kid, or a player. You can also be put in the categories of "emo," "slut," "player," "overachiever" or "smart." There is also the "band geeks," "chorus kids," and the "troublemakers." Or perhaps, if you are like me, you can be labeled the "lone wolf"-- the kid who walks alone, speaks sparingly, yet sees everything.

I used to think walking through school alone, with both earbuds in on full blast and no one by my side, was proof I didn't fit in or belong anywhere. It used to tear me apart. But four years later, I learned that being the lone wolf is a blessing in disguise. Being alone has never been a problem for me, it was only a problem when people told me it was a bad thing or something I should be ashamed of, or even, something I needed to change about myself. It was then that I realized, being me was only a problem for people who cared about labels and other people's opinion of them. Being the lone wolf gave me opportunity after opportunity to find myself, focus on my artwork and create something out of myself that most people will not get a chance to achieve until long after they graduate. Being the lone wolf was something so many people despised and told me to change, calling me "stand off-ish," a "loner" or even a "rebellious art kid."

Being a lone wolf is what saved me. It made me, me. It allowed me to take a step back and watch the way people associate with each other and the way people are treated. It helped me to understand the different types of personalities there are in society, as well as the way people act based on the people they're with. Most importantly, it gave me a broader, more complex, outlook on high school, and life itself.

Being a lone wolf, something often looked down upon, became my saving grace when I realized it wasn't a bad thing to stand alone in a crowd or to be creative and free-spirited. I realized it was okay to be the person who stood in the corner, quietly watching everything around them. It gave me the backbone to stand up for myself and be the person I want to be, instead of just another person standing among a group of people, willing to do anything to fit in.

I'm thankful I didn't get lost trying to fit into a mold of what you're supposed to look like and act like. I'm thankful I realized it's okay to be different and unique. If I had not realized that, I'm not sure who I would be or what kind of person I would have become, but I'm glad I became who I am today.

As I finish up my last year being labelled "lone wolf," I look back on the many experiences I had, and although I wish some didn't happen, I have come to a realization that I am content with the fact that they happened because they made me strong.

Don't let people change you just because you don't fit into their cookie cutter mold. Embrace your individuality.

I am the storm. And I wouldn't change it for the world.