"When I grow up, I am going to be a part-time rock star, a part-time vet, and an artist. Oh, and I will have multiple different highlights in my hair and I will change my name to Lizzie McGuire. Not Hilary Duff, Lizzie McGuire." - Me at 6-years-old.

Looking into the mirror nowadays, I see a lot of things. I see the bags college midterms have permanetly carved under my eyes. Last night's smudged makeup. The exhaustion life had left on me.

Over my 20 years, I had been kicked, betrayed, and hurt. I've been cheated on and betrayed by my high school boyfriend. I got beaten up and ran away in fear. I had my ex-friend group spend hours of my life reassuring me that I was not smart enough to attend certain schools. And when my senior year came, they reassured me that I would not be accepted into them. I have dated boys who broke me down into so many pieces that I still find myself rebuilding myself after all these years. I’ve been shrunken down, and I spent years being told who I was and what I was capable of.

I never wore makeup till I got cheated on the first time around with my ex. I never had the need to wear makeup in what (at the time) was year one of our relationships. Ashamed and feeling I was not good enough for him, I found myself anytime I went home winging my eyeliner and refusing to go out without mascara.

I held back on so much of my personality because of the girls I would associate with.

“Don’t do cheer.” So I didn’t till I was a senior.

“Oh sweetie, he’d never go for you.” So I never asked.

“You’re not smart enough for the University of Washington.” I never even applied.

So many of my dreams were put on pause because of the men I dated and the girls I hung out with. I forgot who I was in the process of growing up. Having to mold to an acceptable image (though in the eyes of my peers, I always failed to fit in) for the small town society that I lived in.

I'm grabbing a makeup wipe because it is time to cleanse myself from the influences others have had on me. It's time to scrub away the makeup I felt like I needed to be accepted by guys. At the age of 6, the idea of “no” was never a possibility. I had the whole world of possibilities in front of me.

Ladies, it is time to regain our kid self and not be ashamed or feel discouraged to follow our dreams. Do not let the men in your past or current relationship define the possibilities that you are able to achieve. You are powerful, smart enough, and capable to do whatever task you have deemed impossible.

To the girls growing up right now, use makeup as a way to self-express on the outside and not wear the mask others have forced on you. Do not be ashamed for the extra jiggle you have when running, and always fly far.

My dreams may not be the same as they were at the age of 6, but there are still dreams that I plan on achieving. The childhood innocence we once had is still there, we just need to let go of the world we were told to live in and aspire to venture into our own fantasy.

Find a man if any who pushes you to work harder and believes in you. I am blessed with the man in my life that looks at me and sees all that I am yet to become. Push yourself to be more than someone’s wife and mother someday, and be the person that little girl you once were looked up to. You’re beautiful, you're powerful enough, and I know you will go big. Let the 6-year-old you shine brightly.