I stand for telling the truth. Not just telling the truth to others, but also to myself. Most people cannot handle truths because it causes them to look at themselves in the mirror and see who they really are. I was told in a tarot card reading that I will always be searching for my true self-and I am ok with that. It actually gives me strength. Finding one’s true self involves being truthful to what is going on within themselves and how they live their lives. Hand-in-hand with telling the truth is being honest. It is important for me, to be honest about the decisions I am making. How the decisions are affecting myself, my family, and how they are equating to the quality of my life have a strong meaning to me. I want to live my life knowing that the decisions I make are from the heart, honest, truthful, and not hurting others. 

 

I define myself as someone who is open-hearted, willing to accept change, learn from mistakes, stand up for what I believe, being an ally to others, taking time to get to know a person, see the best in someone but be honest with myself when knowing someone is not good for the life I want to live, and I see myself as setting an example of what a strong person is. I have gone through very hard times in my life and I pride myself on being a good person through those times. I did not run anyone else over with my emotions or blame others for what was happening to me. I forged through, saw who I was in those moments, and learned from what was happening to me in order to be strong enough to take on the emotions that come with stressful situations. 

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When I am feeling down and going through hard times, music helps me get through it all. Lyrics that are relatable and positive are comforting to me. I take those lyrics and put them on sticky notes where I will see them daily. These are tools to remind me to keep my head up. I also enjoy quotes that are helpful to me in my daily life. Some examples of quotes that help me are “know the love that you deserve”, “sometimes you win and sometimes you learn”, “if you see something beautiful in someone-speak it”, “every next level of your life will demand a different you”, “expect nothing and appreciate everything”, “inhale love exhale hate”, and” if you change nothing, nothing will change”. 

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I feel as though I am an ever-evolving person and will take on many different situations in my life. Being confident with myself, who I am, what I enjoy, and how I treat others is important to me living my best life. I strive to speak to myself and others in a way that is uplifting, not negative,and encouraging. My mom used to say “kill them with kindness” when it came to dealing with tough people and this has stuck with me through many hard times. There has never been a time when kindness hasn’t worked. Don’t get me wrong, I know when situations need a strong voice, but my strong voice is not mean but still straight to the point. Knowing when to have that strong voice means having confidence in myself. Which is something that I know I have. 

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In order to live my best life I need to stop often. To take deep breaths and see what is in front of me, yet realize where I have come from and what I have been through. I then need to appreciate all of that and not take my strength for granted. My strength and perseverance has helped me accomplish goals, make new friendships, understand when to let toxic things go in my life, to know when to focus on family and myself, and when to just take a break and do self-care.   When focusing on the path I need to be on, it helps me to not worry about what others are doing with their lives. If it doesn’t directly affect me, there is no need to worry about it. Everyone has their own path and stepping off mine to worry about others does not help myself. 

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In the end, focusing on my strengths, my passion for honesty, finding quotes that guide me through hard times, knowing where my focus needs to be and having the confidence to live my best life are what guide me through my future life.