"Just because you had some bad chapters- doesn't mean your story can't end well."

I just want to be real with you - people are going to judge you regardless of what you do. If you grow or don't grow, they will judge the choices you make. Do yourself a favor and stop trying to be perfect for imperfect people.

Hear me out, fam -- no matter what you have been through, there is always a way to turn it around. Just because you made some mistakes doesn't mean that you are one. So you've done some things that you aren't proud of, but that doesn't mean that you can't be proud of yourself. So what if someone else is better at hiding their past than you? That doesn't mean they are better than you.

It's less about what you've done and more about what you are going to do. Focus your attention on the chapters that you are writing now, and less on the chapters already written. You are in control. Don't let your past define you - let it refine you. Even with a few bad chapters, you can still have a great ending. Find the strength to turn the page.

You are strong, and strong people are just broken people that learned to press on. No matter how many times you have stepped off the path, you always have the choice to make your next step in the right direction. This is no one's story but yours, and it's your choice to find a way to move forward.

I want you to take a moment to sit and think about how many times you have fallen down. Think about all the ways that life shoved you around and took your feet out from under you. You survived every single time. Recognize that.

Now, remember in detail how you handled getting back up. Some times may have been slower than others, and that's okay. It's not about how quickly you got up -- it's that you bothered to get back up at all. Every time your back is up against the wall, you find your own unique way to push past it, and you discover a new strength within yourself.

As you look back, be real with yourself and understand that this takes a lifetime of practicing growth -- it's not going to happen overnight. Once you confront those things that brought you down, you will be stronger because of it. Every year you grow wiser from the past that molded you. You can never change what is in the past, but you can change how you remember those moments. All that you can control is your response to conflict, and the more you do it, the better you will become.

Let's get it! It's rehab time. Don't let the opinion of others dictate what you do with your life. Their opinion isn't your reality, and if they judge you either way, then you may as well give them a great story to judge.

It all starts with you.