These are my "10 Rules to Live By"

A declaration of my principles.

1. I will not be ashamed of what makes me who I am: the things I am interested in, the way I live my life, or the things I believe - even if others tell me I should be.

- I like myself. I value who I am. I recognize that I am very different from other people. I recognize that there is nothing wrong with this. I always remember that just because society says something is weird, strange, uncool, dark, twisted, abnormal, unnatural, etc, that doesn't mean it's true.

2. I will be honest with myself about my flaws, my faults, my mistakes, and my regrets so that I can acknowledge them, accept them, learn from them, and move on. 


- How do you learn from something you're in denial of? Life is so short, why waste it making the same mistakes over and over again, when you could be making even bigger, better mistakes?

3. I will say what I mean and mean what I say, and keep my promises - I won't make a promise I can't keep. 


- Who doesn't appreciate a person who stays true to their word?

4. I will remember my roots, where I come from, and be humble no matter where I end up. This is to stay a real and raw person.

- Everything I've been through in life - every sad mistake, every bad decision, every time a catastrophe occured because of me... those things will always be a part of who I am. I believe it's important to accept all these things. Even if I don't like the past, I appreciate it, because it got me to where I am today. My knowledge, my wisdom, my experience - all invaluable things that I am so glad to have gained in life - were attained through making all those bad decisions and choices. I won't deny them. I thank the hardships I faced.


5. I will fully and genuinely appreciate the people around me who care about me and have my best interest in mind - the people who accept me as I am, don't require me to prove myself to them, and respect and believe in me always.


- I have the most amazing, wonderful people in my life. I owe them so much credit for helping me become who I am through their constant love and support. It's hard to truly show someone you appreciate them - everyone communicates appreciation and love differently. I say the best way to go about it, is to make sure I'm constantly giving back all the kindness I receive.


6. I will regard all people as equal in regards to worth, including myself.


- I am a human being, just like all my friends and all my family. No matter how much I wish I was a dragon, I will always be a human being. Therefore, I have no authority or right to decide another human being's worth! 


7. I will take full responsibility for all the decisions I make, good and bad and worst. 


- There's no sense in denying anything! If I lie, I need to face that lie. Negative actions or words cause a build up of inner conflict, which leads to more negative actions to be done. The less I lie, the less I steal and hurt others, the less negative energy and conflict I'm building up inside. By dealing with the negativity, I rid myself of that negativity and can move forward with more positive actions, words and feelings.

8. I will not condemn others for what I may think to be bad decisions/choices, mistakes, differences, faults, or flaws. No one needs to prove themselves to me, I will see the good in them and appreciate them as they are.


- Just because I don't like something about someone doesn't mean there's something wrong with them. Plenty of people don't like how fervent I am about some of my beliefs, but plenty of other people love that about me. Though I may see the result of someone's decision, and it may seem bad, I may never know the full story, nor will I always be able to understand where they were coming from, and therefore, I am not in an adequate position to play judge. 

9. I will allow myself to both love and hate, so that neither is watered down, and no lines are blurred. I will hate only when justified/given reason to.


- What's wrong is wrong. What's right is right. I know my morals. I know what I believe in. In a world where so much is gray, I think it's important to make sure that I recognize that some things will always be wrong. Killing an innocent person is wrong. Forcing someone to have sexual relations with you against their will is wrong. Lying will always be wrong. 

10. I will not work to be the best out of everyone, but I will work hard to be happy and live a life that I will fulfilling, and disregard anyone else's ideas, opinions, and criticisms on what makes life fulfilling. I will define fulfillment for myself. 


- Some people think you need to be wealthy and beautiful to be happy. Some people think you need to accomplish much, and be successful. Some people think you need to surround yourself with strong, healthy relationships with like-minded people. Some people think you need to constantly explore and adventure. Some people think you need to full-heartedly commit to a religion or a cause. I will decide what will help me get the most out of life.


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Writing my 10 Principles to Live By was an excellent journey. Not only did I set rules and standards for myself, but I also learned a lot about myself through really exploring what is important to me, and realizing what I believe will help me to live my life to the happiest and fullest that I possibly can.