I decided to write this article not only as a reminder or piece of advice for others, but also for myself.

It took me a long time to realize how important and freeing it is to forget yourself.

What I mean by "forgetting" yourself is that you essentially let go of any preexisting opinions, notions, and feelings.

An important lesson I have learned over the past year is that sometimes the best thing for you is something you never in your life imagined yourself doing.

Of course, it is scary and confusing, and it may even feel like betrayal, but sometimes this is what gets you exactly where you need to go. This rebellion leads you down the right path in life.

Personally, I tend to be very set in my ways. I find a routine, I stick to it. I form an opinion, I stand by it. I feel a certain way, I don't forget it. While this personality trait can be beneficial in some aspects, it can get incredibly exhausting as well. I do not believe you are supposed to live your life as I have for the past eighteen years. It is not healthy to never experience or want change.

I have trained myself to become more aware of when I put walls up. It's important to have boundaries or a "comfort zone," but sometimes we have to step outside of this confining bubble we have placed ourselves into in order to experience true happiness.

I used to believe that this bubble was impossible to get out of. But the fact of the matter is, it is invisible, and it does not exist. We created this bubble for ourselves, so it is possible to pop it. It is possible to get out of it.

All our lives we can tell ourselves that something or someone is not for us. We are so set-in-stone in our feelings and beliefs that we are reluctant to think or feel any other way.

Humans truly hold themselves back from so much, and I am most guilty of this fact. The past year or so especially, I have realized just how much I have missed out on simply because I was so nervous or scared of failure.

While I am still in the process of changing myself and how I react to or perceive situations, I have come a long way. I have learned to not judge people who are in situations I have never experienced. I have learned to ignore my feelings when I recognize that they are artificially inflated. I have learned that every few months, or even a few weeks, a change is due.

What I mean by this is that a small change each month, week, or even day, can help boost your mood or put you on the right track. For example, getting a new piercing is a small change that can ultimately bring about big change.

Changes are important, and also taking chances. Taking chances includes just doing something you never imagined doing. Forgetting about your fears and anxieties and just going with the flow. It is such an easy task but is so hard to follow through with at times. I tend to overthink everything, so I have made it a goal this year to just drop my feelings and emotions about a situation and just be instead. Just be.

The quote, "we only regret the chances we don't take" is beyond cliche and overused, but I think this overuse is for a reason. Humans often forget this fact until it is too late.

I have become increasingly more aware of the fact that I am only nineteen years old. Sometimes I feel as if I have already lived an entire lifetime, but I have only lived a small portion in my life, and we all still have so much time. Days and weeks come and go, but only if we let them.

There are 24 hours in a day and it is so easy to tell ourselves that there is not enough time, but we have allowed ourselves to succumb to the easy route that most humans choose to take. I have met people over the course of my life that have shown me just how easy and simple it is to still work and go to school, but still have time for things that make themselves happy.

If we do not make time for things that make us happy, what will that leave us with? Nothing fulfilling. We must constantly do what makes us happy. Of course, there will be times when we have to choose to do something that ultimately does not make us happy even in the slightest bit, but this unhappy thing will lead to the happy thing.

We are all bound to end up where we are supposed to at some point. We all experience life differently. We all do not end up at the same place with the same people we thought we would be surrounded by, or sometimes the person we never even imagined ourselves with is perfect for us. That's life.

To conclude, I suppose I will leave you with this: do not hold yourself back. Do not let others hold you back. Lose yourself. Surround yourself with genuine people. Take chances. Take risks. And most importantly, do not forget to forget yourself.