I’ve been thinking a lot about who I was, who I am and who I want to be. At times, it’s hard to remember the small-town girl from Sanger wanting to find myself. She was strong. She stood firm on what she believed in and didn’t let anyone or anything change that. However, she didn’t know much about life aside from the little things she had personally experienced. Most of what she knew or thought she knew was from other people’s experiences. I’m not saying I know so much more now or have all the answers. In fact, I think I have more questions now than what I started out with. I definitely have done A LOT of growing up in the two years that I’ve been living in LA. I know I’ve changed and I think it’s for the best. I feel that we all need to change in order to get closer to the person we want to be. What makes a person who they are is what they’ve learned in life, what they’ve experienced and the people they’ve shared it with. I’ve met so many different people who are amazing in their own ways. Some make me smile and laugh and are fun to be with. Others help me reflect on my life and decisions I’ve made. Then there are those who have been very influential to me. They push my boundaries; help me see different avenues and ways of thinking. I absolutely love have conversations with them because at the end I feel that not only do I know them a little more better, I also learn more things about myself. Everyone who comes into your life is put there for a reason. To show you something, to teach you something or help you in ways that not even they are aware of. Whether they are in your life forever or are temporary, they are never forgotten. 

I miss parts of who I used to be. So I think what I have to figure out now is how to balance who I was and who I am now so that I can end up being the girl I can feel incredible proud of. I have a long way to go and a rough journey ahead of me but I can’t back down. No matter how hard it gets, giving up is NOT an option. Even if I don’t succeed according to everyone else’s standards; my success will be determined by myself and there is no one that can take that away from me. I know who I am as far as what I am capable of and everything else I will figure out along the way.