I have come to realize over the past few years that this life is full of surprises. Some good and some quite horrific. However, all of these circumstances have taught me a few things. This life will not always be exactly the way we want or go according to our plans or wishes. There is a time to put ourselves first and that is ok. People will come and go loving or hating us but there is always two sides to every story. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. As humans we all make mistakes at some point in our lives, some bigger than others but we all serve a valuable purpose here whether we want to believe that or not. Although I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, it is sometimes hard to know what they are at the time or ever for that matter. We may think that all of us are suppose to go to college and get a four year degree, settle down and get married before we are thirty and have a perfect life. I, myself have planned on being in school to earn a nursing degree, and have fallen more than behind with doing so in what I thought was a timely manner. I have seen many people come and go from my life quicker than I was ready for and have sometimes questioned what I'm even doing with my life. I feel there is some "standard" I have to live up to in order to be accepted or proud of by my family or friends but have realized that is completely inaccurate. This life is mine, and the only one I should be doing anything for is myself. Those who love and support me will be there every step of the way and those who don't won't be. It is important we all learn to be independent because relying on someone for anything could potentially come back to haunt us someday. We should never be afraid of who we are and never let someone change that just because they weren't supportive. Our lives will take us many places, but some of the ugliest are already in the past. We are only human, and we are going to get off track but there will always be a purpose for the things that occur. I'm not perfect, I never have been and I don't plan to be, all that matters is that I'm good enough for me and the goals I set for myself never get forgotten. We are all headed somewhere and we should always be proud of that, we are too valuable to lose sight of how important our lives are.