The Facebook profile picture then and now challenge has me looking back at who I was. I joined Facebook in the seventh or eighth grade, a time I like to forget. But as I look back, I realize how far I have come. Growing up is tough. I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be pretty and hot. I wanted everyone to like me. But I realized I didn't need that. I didn't need to fit in with people who made me feel worthless. I didn't want to be apart of a group if I couldn't be myself. I wanted to be accepted for who I was. But anytime I tried to be myself, I was discouraged. The girl I used to be was a scared, shy, insecure little girl and I'm grateful for her. She motivated me to be who I am today.

I know you got through a lot. You didn’t think you were good enough, when you were. You didn’t think you were beautiful, when you were and still are. You were told you looked like a boy, and often laughed and joked about it just to be cool when deep down, you were crying. You never wore your hair down except for when it was styled or had product in it, because it was too “big,” and you often were laughed at and told to get a perm. You were laughed at and called lazy when you sat out in Physical Ed when you were having stomach pain for three days. You were laughed at when you tried to dress up. You were told you would never make it in your career choice. You were pushed out of the way and resulting in having your ankle injured right before your big twirl competition. You were always worried about what others think of you. Someone always had to bring you down when you were working on your voice and acting. You were upset and angry. And sometimes you fought fire with fire only to hurt more. They didn’t believe in you. But throughout this, you never stopped believing in yourself and you found your true friends who believed in you and never gave up on you.

Now years have passed. The insecure, shy, little girl you were is gone. Now you are strong, outgoing, more than good enough, beautiful, and talented. You never gave up, and you pushed through and followed your dreams and you’re still chasing them. You have come so far. From quitting baton twirling after nine years because you realized it wasn’t you anymore and you weren’t happy, to chase a whole new dream of acting to fulfilling your childhood dream and work at Walt Disney World as part of the Disney College Program. You even run your own small business through a direct-selling company. You don’t let anyone tear you down and don’t let words get to you. Instead of feeling like you are not good enough, you don’t accept good enough. You want to be more. You work hard. There is always room for improvement.

You believe you are beautiful and you believe you can do anything you set your heart to. You have a best friend who has been with you since you were little and never gave up on you, who now is like your twin sister. You are an aunt to your best friend’s beautiful baby girl. You have a great friend group you call family. And you have friends across the country and globe. You wear your hair down all the time now, and it’s big and thick. And you are proud! You are eating a whole lot healthier and taking care of your body. You are more patient and talk problems out instead of saying hurtful words right back. You don’t let anything stop you from your dreams. You are rocking it. As you look back on the years, you are grateful for the friends you have, your family, and the teachers and mentors who inspired you. You are grateful for everyone who took a chance on you. You reflect on the bad choices you made, and are grateful for making more good choices. You are proud of how far you have come, and hope to inspire others who didn’t or don’t believe, to believe in themselves and to never give up on their dreams. You hope that we will learn as people, and to show love not hate. No one is perfect, and we all have flaws. We all have a past. Be mindful. Be kind. As in Disney's "The Lion King," Rafiki says "Oh yes, The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”