Thank you for telling me no. Yes, you read that right. I want to thank you for telling me I could not do this or that, or the other.

You see, I'm thanking you because you were right, and I was wrong. But wrong because I believed you when you told me no. Because of you, I couldn't be myself. Because of you, I was too afraid to chase my dreams.

You made me believe that I was incapable of obtaining my goals. So, I didn't jump because I was too afraid to fly.

Over the last three years of changing schools, debating changing my major, and wondering if my path was meant for me, I sought help from the wrong people. I asked for advice from those who did not know or want what was best for me. For a second, I almost completely forgot who I was and what I stood for because I stopped listening to my heart.

I want to please everyone. I seek approval from those I shouldn't. I debated ditching my Master's degree because someone told me I would be better at something else.

I neglected everything I once knew about myself, in order to find myself again. I thought the ones around me trying to tell me "who" or "what" to be had my best interest at heart, but I know that's not always true.

My major is hard. My classes are challenging, and it is a long road. My injury is permanent, and the road to a marathon is even longer. Everything I once knew with my family is now different; adjusting is difficult.

I lost myself.

I lost weight.

I lost some friends.

I lost relationships.

I lost my passions.

I lost my love for life.

And then I stopped.

I stopped asking. I stopped seeking external approval. I stopped listening to the comments from the artists around me trying to shape me into the masterpiece they thought was perfect.

I woke up. I reclaimed back my life. I started watering myself. I nurtured myself and allowed myself to grow.

I let myself imagine what it would be like to take a leap of faith, praying I wouldn't fall. But I did the opposite, I learned to fly. I allowed myself to do things that made me happy. I knew that the only way to love myself again was to say no to everyone else.

I told myself yes. I tried everything I ever wanted to do. I got another tattoo. I went to random concerts. I took a spontaneous vacation with my mom.

I went out on a boat, and I got way too drunk. I did things I was too afraid to do because I had to keep a flawless image to satisfy the people who only made me miserable.

I found my love for life again. I know what it's like to hear my friends voice through the phone on a Tuesday morning just because I felt like saying hi.

I run because I want to because it makes me happy and I love it. Not because I have to. I smile at strangers and reach out to people I haven't talked to in years, just because I can.

I take myself out to coffee and take care of my mental health because self-love is important, too.

You see, because you told me I couldn't, or that I shouldn't or that I can't, I learned that you are absolutely right. Because if I listen to you, then I will never do what makes me happy.

If I listen to you, then I will never run a marathon again.

I will let myself wither away because "strong" isn't beautiful.

I will drop out of school and change my major.

I will put my dreams to rest.

I will never do the things that I want to do because I am listening to you.

I decided to turn up my music, roll down my windows, sing at the top of my lungs until I can no longer hear your words of discouragement. They are useless here; you are wasting your time and breath because your words are gone in the wind.

As you're watching me drive away with my happiness in my hand and sunshine on my face in my not-so-nice-new shiny car, I hope you're happy.

I hope, at the end of the day, you can go to sleep at night and still love yourself.

I hope that you stop comparing yourself to every person who you want to be like, and then tear them down because of your envy.

I hope you can find the good in not only them but in yourself, too.

I hope you realize that by bringing someone else down, and telling them that they can't do something, is not sufficient. It does not, and will not, ever, make you any more of a person than them.

So, thank you for telling me all the things that I shouldn't do. Because of you, I did them anyway.