"People too often forget that it is your own choice how you want to spend the rest of your life" - Rachel Wolchin

Growing up, I was always taught to put others before myself. But today, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm tired of always finding a way to love others, but never truly allowing myself to love me. I'm usually promising others things while never doing the same to myself. I deserve a little more credit and love than what I've been giving myself lately.

So, from now until the last day I breathe, I promise myself these few things.

I promise to try and always be happy, no matter what. Some days are tougher than others, but it's those tough days that make us stronger.

I promise to always have a hard work ethic until the day I die. I will never stop giving 110 percent in everything I do. No matter how long the days are or how old I may get, I will always commit my hard-working attitude toward my goal. I'll be 80, and you'll still see me trying my hardest.

I promise to never, ever give up. No matter what challenges I may face or the high expectations for myself I may have, I will never give up. Fall down seven times, stand up eight, right?

I promise to be my biggest critic with the softest of hearts. I want to be hard on myself to make sure I am never swaying away from reaching my goals while also giving myself a break when I know I've busted my butt. Got to have the best of both worlds.

I promise to always be my biggest support system and number one fan. I mean this in the most humble of ways. I need to be the one who believes in myself the most. Because, if I don't believe in myself, then who will?

I promise to always stay true to who I am. People may question my beliefs, but I will never sway from those thoughts. I am who I am, and no one can change that.

I promise to love unconditionally and never say no to love. Love is such an empowering and crazy emotion that we all need in our lives. I will never sway away from it when it comes to family, relationships and my career. Love is powerful.

I promise to be the best daughter, sister and granddaughter I can be. Family comes first, and I will never let that change.

I promise to always pray and love God. God is always there for me, so I will always believe and love him. He is the light in my darkest days and I promise to never forget that. "I can do all this through Him that gives me strength" - Philippians 4:13

I promise to not always take life so seriously. Life can get crazy, but I need to make sure that I'm having some fun every now and then, too.

Most importantly, I promise to always live life to the fullest and take every chance I have. I never want to look back and regret something. I will live life for now and look forward to tomorrow.

Breaking promises is a pretty big no-no for me, so we will see how this goes. I challenge all of you to make a few promises to yourself and see how it goes. Writing these down made me feel much more excited and hopeful for the future. Sometimes we need to take a step back and look at ourselves before we can see the bigger picture.

I promise to never forget these promises I made for myself.

#IPromise