I’m not the best athlete. I’m not the best student. I’m not the prettiest girl or the most fit. I’m not the most involved person and I’m not the most well rounded. I have spent the past eighteen years comparing myself to others and only seeing the things that I am not, rarely focusing on the gifts and talents that I do posses.

The opening of this article may be true, however:

I am the product of an amazing family who have presented me with multiple opportunities to grow into the person that I am today. I am the only person exactly like me, and am learning each and every day how to use my talents in a way that benefit myself and the world around me. I am a daughter, a friend, and a role model, and I pride myself in being such. I am an intelligent student who is constantly open to achieving more knowledge to better myself. I am someone who has let others influence me in ways that are both positive and negative, and have come to learn the difference and appreciate the lessons learned from both. I am someone who has fallen victim to the insecurities of others being projected onto me in the form of insults, and who has emerged stronger and more understanding of those around me. I am whole, regardless of whether I have discovered the full potential of my whole self; there is nothing I am missing, only parts of me which i have yet to unearth. I am surrounded with a strong sense of self and have a good head on my shoulders moving into the new year. I am learning to find truth in myself rather than seeking fulfilment in other people or things. I am an artist and a writer. I am everything that some have tried to stop me from becoming, and I refuse to stop here. I am deciding that eighteen years of more negative than positive has been eighteen years too many, and I am choosing to make this a year of learning, progressing, and being proud of the things that I have accomplished instead of dwelling on the things that I have not.

I strongly encourage everyone to take time out of each day to appreciate the small things that make you who you are. While this may not be the easiest thing for someone to do, I can honestly say that it is so beneficial, and the only way that you can truly progress in life is by paving the way by the light of positivity and self love.