To the person who's scared about the future,

Everyone is. Some people are born into a safer life than others- some are lucky, but no one has it figured out completely, even if they seem to, and that's okay. It's good to have a plan- everyone tells us to figure out what we want, and go after it. If there's something that will make you unhappy, try to avoid it, but don't shy away from a challenge.

For me, that's the uncertainty of where I'll be in my career. As an artist, there are a lot of paths to take and coming out of college there will be the question of, what's next?

I'm scared of who will be in my corner, I'm scared for my friends, I'm scared of what will happen to the country and the world, I'm scared for the environment and the animals... the list could continue forever. However, fear doesn't solve any problems. That's my opinion- find out what's most important and let that help you make your decisions, not your fear.

In the everyday… if you start the day scared or reluctant or worried, it won't help you turn the day around. Even at a time like finals week, there's always an opportunity in the day to make it better, unless you've already determined that it's going to be a horrible day. Be ready for the trouble, but don't just let it walk right in and take away the little things that make you happy. Don't let what you're scared of take away all of your smiles.

In the near future… you may be scared of grades, people, friendships, relationships, places, you name it. A bad day can seem to extend into a bad week, a bad month, a bad year. You can see things going in a terrible direction, but instead of being scared, keep your cool. I know easy to say, hard to do. I'm constantly scared that one day I'm going to seriously injure myself running track, since I'm always plagued with small injuries. But one of the things holding me back from doing better is that fear. Some would say, well you could get hurt so that fear is good, but if we were afraid of everything that could go wrong, we would be so very limited in what we could do. Don't let what you're scared of hold you back from something good.

In the future of your life… you may be scared of aging, change, failing, succeeding at the wrong thing, making a bad decision, the list could continue on forever. But if you're keeping true to yourself and doing things that will make you and the people you care about happy, what will fear do but change you and stand in your way. Sure there's always another obstacle, and fear can keep us wary and safe, because hey, no one is invincible. Sometimes you should listen to your fear. Only you can decide if your fear will help you or hurt you in the end. Everyone gets scared, but don't let what you're scared of stop you from finding the life you want.

Everyone is scared of something, but what makes you fearless is doing what you love and making the world around you better despite the fear. Take the future head on… and go enjoy some ice cream or hot chocolate tomorrow to face the new day.