I don't know about y'all, but this is the kind of question that keeps me up at night.

So...I decided to finally answer it.

It means to be there for yourself. It means to be there for others. It means to celebrate and savor every day. It means to see everyone around you as a part of your world, but also to see it that we get to share this world together. It means… everything.

It means feeling connected to every intricate facet you lay eyes on, always caring about those in your life and welcome new people with the warmth you treat your own loved ones.

I just want to be a part of everything and have everything be a part of me. I just want to be happy. It sounds so simple, but it's not because I feel like I let so many things make me unhappy. And those things claw at my throat and my mind and my thoughts, and no matter how optimistic of a person I am, I let stupid arguments or words make me angry or moody…and why? For what reason?

The Universe is full of moments that test me, and that's actually a good thing—it gives me a reason to fight, the urge to seek change and balance and love and see what's good. I should welcome challenges and people who disrupt my peace because I learn to make my peace with more endurance and stamina—it makes me stronger.

And I believe that being in a universe means learning to make myself as strong and as passionate and as full-of-feeling as I can so that I can feel connected and inspired by everything because each moment, each lesson, each difficulty, each insecurity, each second I feel upset, but learn to get over it and see I am actually so lucky to even have the ability to feel…they're all so impactful and influential.

For me, being in a universe means letting the Universe mold me and shape me but so that I can shape and mold right back based on my strength and my will and it's this give and take of life. Love and be loved. Live and let live. They're all famous words, but I see how they mean something to me now—they're finally hitting a personal chord.

Who cares if I get a B? Who cares if I need to ask for help? Who cares if I can't make the deadline? I am my own person and I have my own limits and I just am here to be a part of everything and let it teach me about what being a human is—what being Laura is.

Figuring out my shape and mold is just so…thrilling. And the Universe is there to join me for the ride.