"Accept No One's Definition of Your Life; Define Yourself."

I am me, I define myself, and I am the author of my story. My fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears and my emotions are valid and all created by me and define my character. My successes and failures are a result of my choices. My story is mine alone and I write where it goes.

Like most stories, mine contains challenges that have to be overcome and mysteries that I want to solve. Characters move in and out of my life. Some are a part of many chapters and others for a just a sentence or two. They play important roles in my story; some offering tools to help overcome the challenges or solve the mysteries and others creating the conflict or leading to more mysteries.

Then, there are the characters who try to take over the role of the author of my story. They want to create my character and have their own opinion of where my story should go. It can be challenging not to let those opinions dictate what I do, especially if the person is important to me because I don't want to disappoint them, but in the end, if I want to live a happy life, I have to write my own story. I have a better idea of what I want over anyone, no matter how well they know my character and if they really do care about me, they will accept my choices and let me write my story.

There are others who misinterpret my character. They don't understand my story or they are commited to putting a false label on my character. These interpretations have to be taken lightly because if I take them seriously, I start to believe them and my character begins to morph into something that I didn't create. Interpretations are not who I am, just what people believe me to be.

I am me. I define myself. People play an important role in my story, but they're opinions and interpretaions don't define who I am, how I'm suppose to feel or where my story goes. I am the author of my story.