PSA: Do What Makes You Happy

As an 18 year old who is almost graduated from high school, I have become a very confident person. But believe me -- I have not always been this way. I used to be very self conscious of what other people thought of me, and used to mold my personality to whoever I was with so I would "fit in". I was an easy target to bullying due to my passion for working with kids who are disabled. Being so passionate about something that was not understood by most people my age made it REALLY hard for me in my middle school/early high school years. I have grown to understand that one of the only things in life that you can control is your own happiness, so in the end, you need to do what makes your heart full.

With this being said, I see way too many people these days (especially teenagers) molding themselves into society's definition of "normal". This makes me extremely sad. No one should ever feel like they have to change who they are in order to be considered normal. So, this is my message: Do what makes you happy. You want to post a selfie because it makes you feel good about yourself? Great! Do it. Who cares what other people think? Do you have a passion that not a lot of other people understand? Awesome! Pursue it. Help people understand why it is so important to you. Educate people. It is worth it. Wear the things that make you feel good about yourself, say the things that you are truly feeling, do the activity that you love, pursue your dreams, do whatever it is that makes you fully and completely filled with joy, because that is something that is entirely in your control. There are thousands of things in this world that we are not able to control, but your happiness is not one of them. Don't allow other people to take away this happiness based on their judgments. Do what makes you feel good because in the end that's all that matters.