As a little 5-year-old girl, my teacher shrugged when she told me, “You’re too sensitive.”

As I matured into a teenager, my mother gazed at me with a concerned look upon her face as she said, “You’re too forgiving.”

As I become a young woman and enter adulthood, I still receive a look of disapproval whenever someone informs me that I'm “too nice.”

What's wrong with being too sensitive, too forgiving and too nice? Why is there a limit on how sensitive, forgiving and nice a person should be? So many people indicate that possessing all of these qualities makes one weak. I, being a very emotional and sensitive person, am here to argue that this implication is completely and utterly wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, I take pride in the fact that I'm sensitive because that means that I'm capable of feeling anything and everything. While some feelings can be toxic, most teach you something about yourself. For example, when I'm happy, I become more aware of just how beautiful life is. When I'm angry, I learn that time spent mad is most definitely time wasted. When I'm sad, I tend to realize that I possess more strength than I give myself credit for. The opposite of being sensitive is being indifferent and I'd easily choose a life bursting with emotions rather than one that is completely void of them.

By being forgiving, I choose to appreciate the positive attributes people possess instead of focusing on the negatives ones. I tend to look past the mistakes they may have made and look forward to the better futures that they are capable of obtaining.

Too many people allow the negativity in this world to taint their souls so I do my best to prevent that from happening to me. In order to do so, I make sure that I greet everyone with a bright smile and a warm heart. It's a wonderful feeling knowing that you put a smile on someone's face and that's what I strive to do by being genuinely kind. Many people worry about being considered too nice in fear of getting hurt and taken advantage of, but what I am afraid of is living in a society where people are too scared to express who they truly are and how they actually feel. We tend to hide behind a wall of emotions in order to protect ourselves from potentially getting hurt, but we are actually hurting ourselves in that process. We strip ourselves from feeling as many say "too much" and that impairs us more in the long run.

One should live each and every single moment of their lives to the fullest; how could you do that by holding back the ability to feel? Proudly wear your heart on your sleeve. Embrace every single emotion you feel. It is always better to feel something than nothing at all.