I remember waking up as a middle-schooler and going through the normal motions of getting ready in the morning. Having breakfast, choosing what to wear that day, and hopefully making it out of the door less than 10 minutes late. Little did I know, looming not too far ahead of my days as a blissful, ignorant child would soon come the trials of real life. I had no idea I would soon find myself being swarmed and often overwhelmed by the pressures and expectations the world holds any human accountable for.

It is no secret that I am a very clumsy person, often inclined toward mistakes and not the best of luck. These mess-ups and unwithheld enthusiasm for most everything gained disapproval and judgement of many people. Yet, any person who finds themselves around me has come to the realization that most of the time I am the person they will find clowning around and making a fool of my own self without a care in the world anyway. However, what most people would not know about me upon first glance is that it took much time and personal growth to become comfortable, even welcoming to such an eccentric personality that I contain.

Having such an abnormal personality has lead to much growth within my own person. One of the greatest lessons I have ever learned is to never allow the opinions of others to get in the way of your opinion, on yourself or your pursuit of happiness. Throughout life, we learn that people find a certain amusement in giving their own opinion of how you are doing something wrong, or how they would have done something different. Humans by nature want to conform to these standards and expectations. The pathway to truly finding yourself and contentment with the life you are given begins the moment you release the entertainment of other people’s opinions.

It can be a confusing time in a young person’s walk through life to learn this very valuable lesson of losing the care for anyone else’s judgement and therefore finding where their ambitions will lead them. The true pursuit of happiness can only be followed along a path of isolation, allowing anyone to help you along this path will most often only hinder your progress.

Learning the art of embracing self-assurance and releasing the need of approval from others helped me take leaps forward in the pursuit of happiness, that all of us are going after in the path of life. Relying on and encouraging what someone else has to say about myself only ever led me to not only trying to mold myself into a person that fit the ideals of these people, but also questioning who I was as a person. I lost myself trying to find me in the words of other people, and that is something I have found to be a recipe for disaster.

The world we live in festers many pressures, expectations and assumptions on how people should act, think, and feel. Many influential children can easily find themselves feeling crushed under the expectations being held over their heads by society and its standards. I, as a child, was one of these children and have found that the best answer to this commonplace problem is walking your own path and finding your own way. The world can be harsh, judgmental, and cruel but it can also be full of joy if we find the strength within ourselves to find who we are and have the courage to be original in a world full of copies.

As often as a person decides to place their judgement on you, you must fight back with self-assurance and confidence. These can be your strongest adversaries in the pathway of life and are very vital to keep the pressures of the world from effecting you in any way. Confidence is often something lost as children grow into adults, but it is a force to be reckoned with and should never be underappreciated.

Friends, social expectations, and family are only few of many factors of stress in a young person’s life. Per human nature, we often push those we love to reaching their full potential as we perceive. We as a people, forget the joy and fulfillment one can find if we could just let them figure out their own trials and lessons in life instead of intruding with what we believe to be the best interests of this person. Though we may have this person’s best interest in mind whenever giving our own input, often this person must learn their own lessons, make their own mistakes, and above all, be given the freedom of their personal choices and the journey of finding themselves.