Everyone keeps saying “Live while you’re young” or “Do whatever makes you happy, you only live once,” but that’s not what life is.

I want to tell my kids that it didn’t take me to hop from one club to another to make “real” friends. Real friends show their colors when you’re at your lowest. I’ll tell them that I didn’t smoke cigarettes, or crack for that matter — to feel like I belong somewhere. Sometimes it’s okay to not fit in. I want to tell them that living healthy makes you happy, and when you’re happy, nothing can ever make you feel worthless. But sometimes it’s okay to cry yourself to sleep, but not okay to constantly cry over stupid men who break your heart. Read. Eat. Travel. That’s all you need to really see what life — and being happy is all about.