So many times in your life people will tell you what to do, how to act, and who to be. A lot of the time, you will listen to these people, whether it be because they are older than you or because they are in a higher position of power than you are, or maybe it's just because you look up to them. Something that I've learned in my life is that you need to learn to trust yourself. You need to learn how to get yourself through situations that you are uncomfortable with, scared of, or just new to.

Now this doesn't mean that you should never listen to other people, because they will often have some good and valuable insight for you to learn from. However, I do think it is important to make sure that every decision you make is coming from your own mind. Everything you do in your life should be your idea and your choice.

This, for a lot of people, can seem like a really hard thing to do. You probably have thought to yourself, "if someone knows more about something than me, I should listen to them." Don't get me wrong, I believe this; but what I'm going to advise you on is when you feel even the slightest twinge of doubt.

A big problem with the way we live, especially younger kids, is that we tend to do what others tell us we should, even if we don't want to; otherwise known as peer pressure. I'm going to be honest and say that this has never been a problem for me. I've never really felt like other people could make better decisions for me than I could make for myself, and I don't think anyone should ever have to feel this way. It might be because of insecurities or even fear but so many people take a back seat in their life.

Now I'm not going to tell you to be more like me because that wouldn't even be a benefit for you. The thing about me is I am wildly antisocial-have been my whole life. People ask me what I like to do in my free time and I say that I like to do things alone; go shopping alone, go to a movie alone, read, draw. I really only like activities that I can do by myself, so you can imagine that if someone whose actions I don't particularly agree with asks me to do something I don't want to, I don't really have the hardest time shutting them down; in fact, it's almost fun.

What I have learned that I think everyone else needs to hear is that you need to be comfortable being alone. I'm not saying that you need to enjoy being alone, but you can't just shut down when you are by yourself. Not wanting to be alone or "left out" of situations will only enhance the idea that you need to listen to what other people tell you, just because you want to belong and be included. There's nothing wrong with wanting friends, but make sure that your "friends" are people who want what is best for you.

My freshmen year of college I was roomed with some girls that did things I didn't agree with. I was asked multiple times if I wanted to go out with them, or join them even though they knew from the countless number of times I had already answered that I didn't want to be apart of it. Despite what people think, you don't have to be friends with your roommates; I certainly wasn't. Friendship isn't about making your friends more like you, it's about embracing who the other person is and loving them for it. It's also okay to not have friends, you might even be better off without them.

I know this can seem like useless information, coming from me. I also know that some people have a really hard time being alone. While I've never understood that, I am sympathetic to it. So for all of you out there who just don't like spending time with yourselves, my challenge for you is to figure out why that is.

What is it about yourself that you don't want to be around? I mean, there's no one who knows you better, no one who knows all of your likes and dislikes like you do. If you don't like being alone, there is probably something inside of you, some underlying reason that you don't want to be by yourself. My best guess is that there is something about yourself that you don't like, or something you wish you could change. Unfortunately for you, this means you're going to have to spend some quality time with that person in the mirror to figure it out.