“I'm a bit too pop for the punk kids, but I'm too punk for the pop kids.”

The Summer Set recently released their newest album “Stories For Monday”. The album features 11 tracks, all of which are composed of infectious melodies and creative lyrics that deliver “nostalgia-ridden goodness.” These songs are honest and relatable. They remind you of nights out with your friends, reckless loves, and the joys that life can bring. You can listen to the album stream here.

For me, one song that stood out on the album was the opening track, “Figure Me Out.” The song talks about finding your place in life, which is something everyone has dealt with or is still dealing with. It touches on the struggle of finding where you fit in and your purpose in life.

“I'm a bit too pop for the punk kids, but I'm too punk for the pop kids

I don't know just where I fit in cause when I open my mouth I know nobody's listenin'

To the words of a prophet who still can't turn a profit.

Cause I don't fit in with the in crowd, but I'm too Hollywood to go back to my hometown.”

Those lyrics in particular touch on something that I’ve always dealt with. The feeling that you’re too much of one thing and not enough of the other to really find where you fit. When you’re into a little bit of everything it can be tricky to find those that share your interests. It’s disheartening when you’re with people that you feel you can’t truly be yourself around because they’re either not going to understand – or not care enough to listen. Everything I love and everything I am, it all clashes. Picture Elle Woods, if she was into punk, horror and comics.

Part of figuring yourself out is learning not to hide any aspect of what makes you who you are. Especially, if you’re hiding who you are in order to fit in. This is something I had to figure out as I got older and learned to accept myself. If you love something, you should talk about it. Find people that listen to you and accept every part of you, not just the parts that are the most convenient to them.  On the contrary, if someone shares a part of themselves with you, be open to listen to them even if it’s not something you’re into. No one is completely one dimensional. If all of the people in my life were exactly the same, it would be incredibly dull. Once you figure out the things that make you who you are, never let anyone make you feel bad about it. Find ways to express yourself when you feel like you’re not being heard. Don’t let others keep you from using your voice because someone out there will listen.

“Let's get back to the basics and take it back to the basement

Where I heard Born To Run for the first time and I stared at my dad in amazement

He said, "Son don't stop chasing great and keep pounding the pavement."

So I'd much rather die tryin' to make something sacred than live as another YouTube sensation.”

Another part of figuring yourself is finding your purpose in life. As you grow, you’ll change your mind about the things you want in life. And that’s totally okay. If you’re going to spend every day dedicating your life to something, it needs to be something that you’re passionate about. Don’t limit yourself; you owe it to yourself to do the things that make you happy. Allow yourself be inspired and go out and inspire others. This is connected to figuring out who you are and finding your voice. If you feel that you’re not being heard, find a way to use your voice and it could lead you to your purpose. Get loud, be bold, and discover new ways to express yourself. Whether it’s through writing, music, art – it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re doing what you want. When I felt that I wasn’t being heard, I turned to writing. If the people around me weren’t going to listen to me, I knew someone else out there would.

“But I believe there's more to life than all my problems maybe there's still hope for me to start again.”

A huge part of life is spent figuring yourself out. Figure out what makes you who you are and surround yourself with people that encourage you to be just that. Go out and find the things that make you passionate and do those things. It you thought you had it all figured out and you’re starting over, it’s okay. Things happen, setbacks occur, and life gets in the way. No matter what the case may be, there’s always a chance for you. A chance to start over, to continue to progress and go for the things you want. Never stop going after the things you want. But most importantly, never stop being unapologetically yourself. Never apologize for the things that you love or make you happy. 

Hey everyone!

The start of the year is all about self-reflection and change. For some it’s wanting a better lifestyle, for others it’s all about starting their career. For most it’s about working towards a better “you.”

The start of 2015 has brought many new changes my way and I couldn’t be more excited to see where the New Year takes me.

For starters, my mission in life is to make a difference not only in my life but also in those around me. A quote that’s always rang clear to me was “to be the person you needed when you were younger” and that’s what I intend to do.

First, I finally decided to make changes in my life that needed to happen in order for me to become happier. It was the first steps to becoming a better and healthier me.

I began to make huge decisions considering my future and what I wanted out of life. One of the main things I wanted to do was to help others dealing with mental health issues. Mental health has been a huge part of my life, ever since being diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety when I was younger. These took a toll on my life and made it hard for me to live day to day. It affected my life, school, and the relationships of those around me. Even though I still have my bad days, overcoming my disorders and not letting them define me was one of my proudest moments.

I want to be there for people, who like me, deal with mental health issues and to help them see that it does get better and that they’re not alone. When I was younger, for the most part, I dealt with things on my own, my mission is to help young women and men know that this is something they don’t have to deal with alone and they can live happy lives.

Another mission of mine is to help teenagers and young adults- especially women, understand their worth and learn that they can be who they are and be proud of themselves, without needing validation from others or letting others get in the way of their happiness. Whether it’s them wanting to be more comfortable with their looks, sexuality and gender, their personal lives or whatever the case may be. Far too many young ones often leave this world feeling like they had no one and I want to work towards changing that.

My mission is to let the New Year bring new changes for 2015 and years to come. Let the change begin.

Because quite frankly I'm tired of hearing about them.

When you tell someone that you're not interested in getting into a relationship you're often met with disbelieving looks and someone saying "oh honey, that'll change."

Like...no.

The last thing on my mind is getting into a relationship, I don't how many other ways to express that. So now, I'm going to list a few of the reasons why relationships are not high on my "to do list."

1. I'm too busy.

Okay, I know how that sounds but seriously, I run out of energy faster than my character on the Kim K Hollywood game. I'm already stretched ten different ways with class, extracurricular activities, my business, and trying to fit in time with family and friends all while trying not to lose my head. Adding in a significant other just doesn't fit into my schedule. Whenever I see free time, that turns into "me time" which means= nap time. 

2. I'm focused on other things.

I have a dream career, a dream house, dream vacation spots, and more. One thing that's not on my mind is finding a "dream spouse." Literally everyone around me does nothing but talk about being in a relationship, getting married, and having children- which is fine...for them. I'm only 21, I have plenty of time to worry about finding the "right one." As for right now, I have other things on my mind, like working towards my goal career. Some want to focus on their future career and that special someone- more power to you! Do what makes you happy. I have other things on my mind and that's totally okay.

3. I'm just not looking for a commitment.

Finding a man is not on my list of "things I need to do." Now, not being interested in commitment doesn't mean I have commitment issues, I'm just genuinely not interested in boyfriends. This is not one of those "I'm a strong independent woman who don't need no man" situations. I'm a truly difficult person to get along with. I'm selfish, opinionated, sarcastic, impatient, stubborn, and slightly neurotic. My personality is for those with an "acquired taste" and I understand that it's going to take some time to find someone who I can stand to be around for longer than five seconds and vice-versa. To be honest, I've never been one for relationships. Even in cases where I've had "crushes" it was mainly me forcing myself to "like" people just so I would have someone to talk about when my friends got into one of their "boy-crazy" moods where they did nothing but talk about potential boyfriends. Even regarding those I actually thought I was interested in- I wasn't. I just don't feel a romantic attraction to a lot of people and that's totes cool. 

4. I kind of hate...everyone.

Now, this isn't some attempt to seem like one of those people that are like "omg I hate everyone because I'm super cool," like no- get out. I just can't find anyone that doesn't make me want to poke my eyes out with scissors. Everyone that I could have potentially been interested in lose their appeal after five minutes. I'm honestly really picky, and it only takes me about two seconds to find something wrong with someone. Like is it that hard to find someone that enjoys Doctor Who, horror movies, and Marvel? Yes? That's okay, I'll wait.

5. I'm perfectly content with the single life.

Seriously, I'm good. People are always under the impression that just because you're single that you must not be happy, as if the only way to be happy is to be with someone else. I can't tell you how many times someone will say something along the lines of "when you get into a relationship you'll understand," or "being in love is so much better," or some other bullshit about being in a relationship. Let me break something down for you: I'm perfectly happy being by myself. If I was that interested in a relationship I would be in one. I like the freedom of the single life, there's so many things I want to do before I worry about finding a partner. 

Seriously, If I have to hear another comment about being in a relationship, I'm going to spontaneously combust.

6. My true love is Netflix and YouTube.

Seriously, I can binge watch a show like nobodies business. I can finish a series extremely fast, like embarrassingly fast. Also, I'm addicted to YouTube. Why date when I can spend hours watching Hannah Hart on My Drunk Kitchen? So unless someone's gonna come sit with me while I watch a marathon of Scandal or Game of Thrones- it's gonna be me and Netflix 4Ever.