I have been always been a quiet person. In awkward, new or different situations, I tend to stay silent mostly because I have no idea how to act or what to say. When people meet me for the first time, I am shy. I am nervous and unwilling to be my full self around them out of fear that they won’t like me. I have always had a hard time making friends because of this. It took me years to come out of my shell and to be completely comfortable being myself. I wanted to be able to be more confident around others, witty, and cool. I am a mess at best. I am awkward, weird, shy, loud, funny and always willing to lend an ear or offer advice to those who need it. I try my best to be the best version of myself that I can be. I think a big part of this was the fact that for most of my life I was overweight, I always so concerned with how I looked and it affected how I felt about myself. I never wanted a thousand friends but just a few who I knew really liked me for me and weren’t friends with me because they felt they had to be or because they felt sorry for me. I wanted loyalty. I have had many friends over the years some have stayed others have gone and have taught me a lot about myself and life. They have helped to shape me in the person that I am today. I am quiet because that is who I am. I have learned how to be more comfortable talking to people and asking questions about themselves without it feeling forced. In college, I finally was able to allow myself to be who I was, I went on a leadership conference and went up to someone that I hardly knew at all and that was so hard to do. I don’t normally do things like that but I am so glad that I did. I ended up making a friend and she introduced me to even more of her friends and I was able to find people who were so awesome. I got involved in two of the clubs she was in at school and I met even more people, she was quiet like me but she really helped me a lot and I am forever grateful that I went up to her that day. My college experience was better because of her and her kindness to talk to someone who was younger then her. I credit her for a lot. She was always really nice to me and I really appreciate that. I met other friends in college too who really changed my life, they helped me to be a more positive and well rounded person. I learned to be less quiet and more open. It took me a really long time to be same person that I was at home in public around new people. They introduced me to new things and people who really have impacted my life in the best way possible. At heart, I am still sort of shy but definitely less quiet. It is never too late to be the person you want to be, embrace your true self and own it.