For as long as I can remember I've longed to be understood. While this is fairly universal throughout humankind I feel that I long for this more than the typical person. This provides a host of issues because you can never be fully understood by anyone, let alone every person you interact with.

I have several "unique" experiences lately. The biggest one being a struggle with insomnia. If there's anything I have felt the need to explain it would be my weird sleeping habits because of said insomnia. Time after time I have slept through alarms missed things or been up all night. This is something that I wouldn't wish on anyone but if you haven't experienced it yourself you really have no idea what it entails. I have tried and tried to explain this to friends, relatives, and classmates but they just don't get it. "I just don't understand how you can sleep through your alarm," they say.

If you have ever felt misunderstood, alone, or frustrated, listen to me: you do not have to explain yourself to anyone.

"Your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth."

This quote never really resonated with me. My worth doesn't depend on others opinions of me. Of course, it doesn't, I would tell myself. But that's not how I was truly living. I was living by others opinions. I was a slave to approval. If something was going on I constantly explained myself to others no matter how much or little they were involved in my life.

This recently slapped me in the face. I don't have to explain myself to anyone. Really. Yes, it feels great to be understood, but there are some things that really can't be understood if you haven't lived them. Therefore, there are some things that other people just aren't going to get. And that is okay.

So, if you, like me strive for others approval, long to be understood, and find yourself explaining things that are really not anyone else's business, this is for you. You do not have to do that anymore. It is okay if someone doesn't understand you. It is okay if you have to do things a little differently. Seriously. You do not have to prove yourself anymore. You are free. And tell yourself this:

"What other people think of me is none of my business."