Popularity was never important to me in high school.

Like most, if not all, college students, I could not be more excited that high school is finally over.

While I didn't hate high school, I'm so happy to be out of there. I'm running far, far away from that place, and I really don't plan on looking back anytime soon.

I still have friends from my high school, and I still love all of the underclassmen I was able to get close with during my senior year,

But I'm no longer making an effort to please anyone, and I'm not really sure I ever did.

My graduating class was around 400 people, which is actually small for my high school. In total, around 1,700 people went to my high school, and the class of 2021 sits at around 500 students.

Still, it was impossible to know everyone that I graduated with. Even if I tried, I wouldn't have succeeded. That's just how things work. I was in English class with the same people for four years. There are people I saw every day in middle school that I didn't see or hear of again until graduation.

Because of this, my motivation to impress people was extremely low. And, at this point, it has dropped so low that my private accounts have dropped from hundreds of followers down to just above 50.

People are out of my life for good now, and I don't regret it.

Don't get me wrong. While I was in high school, I definitely felt pressure to fit in. Almost everyone that I know is going into some sort of STEM field, and I still get weird looks when I talk about going into public relations as my major.

On a consistent basis, people mentioned to me and my friends how choir and the music hallway seemed like a completely different universe. While they were right, people weren't exactly rushing to join every year. But I found it really fun, and I met some of my best friends through it.

I've always enjoyed marching to the beat of my own drum. It's fun, and I don't see a point in following a crowd of people that I don't really like anyway. I'd rather use my energy doing things that make me happy.

Yes, I'm loud. Yes, I can be painfully awkward. But trust me when I say this: It's much more rewarding to be different but content than feeling like you're living to please other people and not making your own decisions based on your needs and wants.

Don't be afraid to be different. Not everyone is going to love you, and that's OK.