I have been told many times before that I am very in-tune with myself, especially when making decisions. I understand the practicalities, I know what works best for myself, and I know what I need to be happy. The only thing holding me back is this fear of outside judgement.

Around this time last year, I committed to Susquehanna University and to the Creative Writing Program as well.

I was fortunate to have my mom step back during this decision-making process and let me choose for myself. Picking a college and a major was one of the biggest and most important decisions I’ve had to make.

Luckily, falling in love with my school was the easiest part of this process. It was everyone else’s reactions that followed that scared the hell out of me.

For the most part, I got an incredibly positive reaction from my choice of school and major. There were a fair number of people who made some judgemental comments, but the fact that I had made a decision perfect for me helped me ignore everyone else.

And one year later, I can say this really was the perfect decision for me. I am so grateful that this was a choice that I had to make on my own, and that I was able to learn how to put my needs first and put outside judgement aside.

There is nothing selfish about taking care of yourself. People are going to judge no matter what decision you make, but whether that judgement is good or bad should not sway you from doing what’s best for you.

I can confidently say that I am exactly where I want to be in my life, all other judgements aside, and whether that is right or wrong to anyone else, it is right for me, which is all that truly matters in the end.