I used to have such a traditional dream.

I knew what I wanted, and I knew what others wanted for me. I had all of these preconceived ideas of success which were given to me at birth. I had the definition of "acceptable" in black and white my entire life, and for a long long time I believed that life was black and white.

I am here to tell you that it is not.

Life is a very big grey area, and it is our job to color in or out of the lines the way that we want to. Because each individual person is meant to live their own life. They are meant to make and lead their own path.

Don't let other people overshadow your path because you are afraid of living your life wrong. There is absolutely no way we can live our life wrong. You just have to take it day by day, and be happy. That's it.

That being said: I lived my life out of order.

Well, in the sense that I didn't do things the way I 'planned.' Since I was a little girl, I was going to graduate high school, go to college, get married, and then have children.

I gotta tell you, it's not easy living life in order. Things happen. You fall in and out of love. People change. You will change. College is not for everyone. There is never a good time to have a baby.

After graduating high school, after a disastrous situation, somehow in the rubble, I found an amazing man. He came in my life, and swept me away. It's a love I hope I never lose. It's a love everyone deserves.

So, back to the point of this article.

It's OK to live life out of order. It's OK to do things that you are afraid your family won't agree with.

For me, that was dropping out of college, and moving in with a man before I was married.

It's still hard for me to put into words just how hard it is to go against the ingrained idea of success in your head. I had to though. For my happiness, and for the sake of mine and my parents relationship.

I was terrified to tell my grandma, with whom I grew up going to Pentecostal churches. I thought she would disown me when I told her that I would be moving in with my older boyfriend. Much to my surprise, she greeted me with utter love.

She handed me $50, and she told me to go grocery shopping when I left. She absolutely loved Cody, and honestly she cemented my decision.

My parents had a rule when I was growing up that they would help me and pay for my college as long as I:

Wasn't married.

Didn't have a baby.

Didn't move in with a man I wasn't married to.

I understood all of this. It made sense to me.

I was so scared to have made the discussion to move out. I mean, in my world, you don't do that. So, you can imagine my surprise when they brought up the discussion. They told me that they would still help me. They said that you make rules for your children to keep them on track with life. They said that after a while though, you see your kids are growing up, and they're doing what they're supposed to.

So, as your child grows into a responsible adult, rules change. They have to change with the person -- because everyone is different. So, you bend rules, and you allow your children to be happy.

That's when it really sunk in: You have to grow up. We all do.

Sometimes we have to make hard decisions in order to be happy. It doesn't mean you're irresponsible if you live life 'out of order.'

If you want to:

Take time off of college.

Don't go to college.

Have a baby.

Live with someone before marriage.

Have a baby before marriage.

It is all OK.

Don't live your life to please people. Live your life in whatever order you want.

Sometimes, we get things out of order.

We are all only human.