Don't surround yourself with people who don't help you

The one person who believed in me and my career choice was my brother and his friends. Ever since I graduated from high school, I already knew what I wanted from the beginning. I have always dreamed of being self-employed and making more and not less in order for me to not worry about being in debt at all.

My brother supported me the most, along with his friends, better than anyone else has, and I’m grateful, and I thank him for it every single day, every time I open up a word document to work on a story that I’m working on or an essay on a certain topic that I want to cover. I always loved doing what I love as a career because it makes me feel like myself and it reminds me that I don’t need to fit into a mold that I don’t fit into, and we should all take this to heart to always surround ourselves with it.

Cutting people out of your life doesn’t mean you hate them; it means you respect yourself. What it means is that we shouldn't surround ourselves with people who don’t help us, and if someone isn't there at your worst, then they don’t deserve to be with you during your best. It may be hard to do when someone brings you down, like people in your life; it can really pull you down in the dark.

You have to ask yourself if the people in your life would be there when you're depressed or during an anxiety attack but if they’re not, then they’re not worth your time and they don’t deserve to be part of your successes because if you stand up for what you believe in, you’ll always win in the end. No one deserves to be talked down to and be forced into a mold that we don’t fit into when someone laughs at you because you want to walk a certain career path because they say that it’s a dream that will never happen every single time.

Nobody has a right to tell you what you can and can’t do with your life; it’s your life and you have the right to live it how you want as long as you put your mind to it. We live in a time where people won’t accept us for what we do with our lives and there were times that I felt like I was being exposed to that way too much, to a point I begged and wished that I lived somewhere else where I’m surrounded by people that won’t belittle me and never tell me that I have to work for people when clearly I prefer to work for myself. Now I’m just stuck in a rut that I can’t get out of and I’m surrounded by people who don’t help me at the moment. If only I had someone to take me in and support me and celebrate my achievements.

Now I won’t ever know what it’s like to have that and this is what I face a lot of the time. This is why I don’t want everyone to go through what I’m going through, and if anyone is going through this, then I want you all to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, “I deserve to be surrounded by people who will celebrate me and support me no matter what.” You deserve so much better than the people you're living with or surrounded with and your life will be so much better if we all drop what’s holding us back and live a much better and healthy life.

So don’t waste your time being trapped with someone who brings you down and puts too much stress on your life. Don’t let them drag you into the mud, and take the path that’s meant for you and I guarantee you that it will make your life more clear and free.

We all deserve to see the light at the end of the tunnel and as Oprah Winfrey once said, "Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher.”

I want you all to take these words to heart and please don’t let people in your life who weigh you down.