Usually when people heard the name "Marie Kelly", they imagined the girl who sits in the front of the room but didn't talk that much. As multiple people have stated "The wallflower". Within the last semester however, I have been breaking down people's first assumptions about me and in the process, learning who I am. 2016 may not have been the best year, but now that it is 2017 I am finally being myself and not letting anything push me down. As my favorite expression says "People will always have their opinion on you despite who you are and what you are capable of."
For 2017, my New Year's resolution was to finally be myself and cut ties with those who just want to hurt me. I decided this was the year to show the real me instead of just the one who is too afraid to do anything in fear of being judged.
Last semester, I was not the happiest. I would always have the thoughts of others who used to say I would never amount to anything and would fail everything. I would push myself to the point where I would stay up late at night and ended up exhausted all the times because I couldn't sleep without having nightmares. I was having issues concentrating and started falling into a rut. The ones who knew me knew something was wrong but I could barely understand it myself. During the last week of last semester, I stopped and started thinking what changed. I decided it was time to let those who made me upset go and embrace who I am.
This semester is different. I cut ties with those who made me upset with 2016. And I decided to was finally time to come out as asexual. I realized I've known for almost a year and it was a weight that I needed to let go. When I started coming out, I started feeling more free than I have felt in a while.
Most people's assumptions started changing. Instead of being referred to "the wallflower", I am now being referred as "The one who may be sarcastic, but can actually speak her mind". I have finally stepped out of my comfort zone and am not looking back. I decided: new semester finally me.
