If you thought this article was going to be fashion driven then I apologize. Quite frankly I have no fashion advice to give you because my wardrobe consists of sweat pants, athletic shorts, and a million t-shirts, of which I only wear about ten.

Anyway! Have you ever stumbled across an old picture of yourself, or maybe an ancient artifact from when you were in middle school and thought ‘wow, I was so different back then,’ or maybe ‘I am a completely different person now, as compared to way back when.’ Just to be clear, I’m not talking about “oh I grew seven inches since [insert time in your life here],’ or even ‘wow I’m really glad that I got my braces off and my acne finally decided to clear up.’ Although those changes to your appearance are great, I’m talking about something a little deeper.

You see, every single second, of every single day will shape you somehow. When you were brought into this world you were given a blank canvas with no outline, and no deadline. Use it. Paint strong and deliberately, live with strength and confidence.

The popular saying goes something like this, ‘you are not required to be the same person you were six months ago, a week ago, or even five minutes ago.’ And honestly, I couldn’t put it any better myself. You see, you’re going to make mistakes in life, it sucks, but it is going to happen. But like your parents always tell you, you must learn from your mistakes. Mistakes are beautiful, but often times they can be painful (physically and emotionally).

So how we react to them is crucial. But change doesn’t always come from a mistake. Maybe one day you wake up and you want to explore a new genre of music, or try new food, or become a vegetarian. That is beautiful. Free choice, is beautiful. And be not afraid, you may lose some friends along the path to find yourself, but rest assure it will be okay. The path you walk may be long and at times it will be lonely, but when you finally find your footing and you stand tall, it will be beautiful. I promise.

Be well.