Always Be Yourself

Hi guys!
    I know I haven't blogged here yet, so I'd like to introduce myself! My name is Erica, and I'm the head of the volunteering/health department! These two things take up a good portion of my life so I'm always here to answer ANY questions you may need! Even though this is my first official blog post, I'd like to take a different approach to all the blog entries I had planned as my first! I want to talk about being yourself and loving YOU. 
    We are all different in our way, and sometimes it's just hard to accept that. For example, my entire life I knew I've always been one of those people that just can't seem to fit in or mold to what society wants me to be. Though I'm a bit quieter and more reserved, there's always been this part of me that can never seem to let me do that. Inside I knew, that I was automatically different from everyone else, in many different ways. And for yearsssssss, I tried to suppress this. I told myself I NEEDED to fit to have other kids like me, be apart of "that" crowd, and so forth. I could never truly embrace who I was. And that needed to change.
    We all know how the story goes, middle school & high school come around and people change both physically and emotionally. EVERYTHING feels like it's too much, with school, life, friends, boyfriends, whatever. But you're so caught up in all this chaos you never really have time to sit and think about the person you are, how God made you be. You're just so busy trying to keep up with society's current image and seeing how can you get there, what can you change, etc.
    Let this serve as a reminder to ALWAYS BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. 
    There are so many factors in this world that want to bring you down and make you fight to be someone you're not. It could be the people you trust the most, like your parents or best friends. It could be the people you want to become, constantly rejecting you for not being enough. Let me just say that you're always enough and who you truly are is amazing, I promise you! I've had to learn the hard way.
    Like every common teenager, I've struggled with who I was and the purpose I serve on this Earth. And this is the first time I've ever told anyone this but I have even contemplated self-harm because of these destructive thoughts. As you may have read in my bio, I led an entirely too negative life. I needed a change...a change for the better. And that is what I challenge everyone who reads this to do! 
You are so completely worth it, and who you are as unique and beautiful in its special way. YOU were made to be YOU for a reason. Being yourself is hard, yes, but you're ultimately wayyyyy happier as a result. There's no more hiding who you are and there are no expectations for who you have to become.  Make sure you're happy with your life and with what you've fulfilled because YOU can only be YOU. Be the BEST you today. The true, passionate, & avidly dreaming you!

"Not fitting in is more often than not a blessing. Always be yourself." ~Ed Sheeran 
With all my love, Erica xxx