Who would you be if nothing would hold you back? Would you be that doctor or teacher? Would you be the person that always makes people laugh or would you be a writer and share your stories. Who would you be?

Today we live in a world where we let society define us. We post our whole lives to social media for others to see. We strive to “one up” each other. We see what that one kid we talked to in English class once did and we strive to do something better. We let this define us. We no longer live by what we wanna be, but we live by what others think of us. I challenge you, take yourself off of social media for a week (or even a day) and your views will change. You will begin to enjoy life more, you won't be consumed by what others are doing, you will be consumed in doing what you want to do. You won't have anything to compare your life too. You begin to take a step into becoming who you wanna be.

Before we leave the house in the morning we have to make ourselves “ look good”, by the definition of others. We don't wear that crazy bird shirt we love so much because we don't want people to make fun of us or because we care what other people think of us (why....). We put on our faces full of makeup because we think we're not good enough without it. But deep inside, we really wanna wear that bird shirt and we don't wanna get up 30 minutes early just to put on our makeup (who wants to get up early?). We define what we wear by what everyone else wears, we don't style our make up our own way. We do our make up to whatever is popular. We live our lives by what we think other people need to see to accept us. I challenge you, wear that crazy bird shirt! Do your make up a different way. New trends are set because someone else stepped outside their comfort zone and took a chance. Don't blend in with the crowd, dare to stand out. When you begin to step outside your comfort zone the world grows. You take another step to becoming who you really want to be.

We also let others define our actions. When we go to the prom we don’t dance our favorite style, instead, we stand and swing our hips back and forth because that's what everyone else is doing. We don't line dance to our favorite songs because no one else is doing it. Be that person that breaks the “norms”, maybe someone else in the crowd wants to line dance and they just need you to be the brave soul to take a step. Be who you are, don’t let others define what you become. Take that crazy prom picture with your best friend! The crazy pictures are the ones that you end up liking the best. Branch out and do what you want to do. Don’t take boring pictures because everyone else does, don't get a small car because that’s what everyone else has. Get that big jacked up truck you want, who cares it’s not a “girl car”.Be who you wanna be! Do what you wanna do! You won’t be happy following the crowd, in the end. In the end, you will smile because you did what you wanted to do, and you became who you wanted to become!

Growing up I never wanted to fit the “norm”. I did my own thing and I wasn’t “popular”. Popularity is something that ends at high school graduation and honestly what does it really mean. I was always the person that did what she wanted to do. I wanted to dye my hair red, so I did. Once I dyed my hair red others began to follow. I didn’t want a “girly car”, so I got a blazer and jacked it up. I grew up in a “city” school with lots of people that haven’t touched a farm animal. I didn’t let that hold me back from wearing what I wanted to wear. I didn’t follow the “norm” of wearing yoga pants every day, I became who I wanted to become by wearing my boots and jeans. My boots occasionally smelled like swine, but I didn’t care that’s who I was. I took all those crazy pictures with my friends. I did all the crazy things to make my friends laugh, these are the memories we cherish most. I didn’t let others define what I did if it wasn’t “normal” who cares. “Normal” is not what I wanted to be. Growing up I did a lot of different things that weren’t “norm”. In the end, I couldn’t be more proud of the person I have become. When I look back, I remember all the times I broke the “norm”, all the times I was who I wanted to become!

In the end, we don't remember the person that matched everyone else, we remember the person that stands out. Think about a crowd, everyone is wearing black and one person is wear red, who do you remember? I bet you remember the one person wearing red. Let's think back in history. Do we remember the people that followed the fashion trends and just simply “fit in?" No way! We remember the people that stuck out and become who they wanted to be. We remember Rosa Parks for not giving up her seat, we remember Martin Luther King for embracing who he was and sharing his ideas. This helped so many people. Sometimes becoming who you want to be will benefit more than just yourself.

Think to yourself, who do you really want to be? Do you want to be defined by what everyone else is doing? Or do you want to step outside your comfort zone? Every Time you step outside your comfort zone, your comfort zone grows. You being to learn more. You become a better person. When you move outside your comfort zone you inspire someone else to do the same. Become the person you really want to be, who care what everyone else thinks. No one has to live your life but yourself! People come in and out of your life, but the only person that stays is yourself!

So tomorrow, wear whatever you want. Take a chance. Join the band if you want, join the football team. Take a step in the direction of who you want to be! This will make yourself a happier person, don't pretend to be someone you're not anymore.Challenge yourself!!

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”