Decide who you are

The world handed her a list of rules: be this way, think this way, succeed by this age, become what everyone expects, never disappoint anyone, never make mistakes. She looked at the list, smiled quietly, and decided that she would listen—but she would not surrender her entire identity to it.

She knew she would disappoint people sometimes. She knew there would be moments when her choices would not make sense to everyone. But she also knew that she was trying. She was learning. She was growing. She was doing the best she could with what she understood at that moment. So when she made mistakes, she corrected them. When she failed, she learned. When someone misunderstood her, she explained when possible and continued when necessary.

She did not want a perfect life. She wanted a meaningful one. A life where she could look back and say, I lived. I loved. I tried. I laughed. I learned. I helped someone. I made mistakes and grew from them. I trusted God when I could not see the road. I became more than the expectations placed upon me. The world could write its rules, but she would write her response.