A Trail of Your Own

                The highly influential, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said, “Don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Throughout high school, there are many pressures to be what is considered “popular” or “cool”. Many teens completely change who they are and what they stand for all to just fit it. For me, feeling accepted, whether it’s by my peers or completes strangers, is extremely important. However, throughout my high school experience, I have found that complete, true happiness comes from accepting yourself and never giving up something you believe in.

                No matter where you go, social media seems to be subconsciously defining what is beautiful and perfect. Starting the summer before my freshman year, I became really self conscious about my physical appearance, especially my weight. Being a teenage girl in a world full of false interpretations became a huge struggle. One of my good friends was consumed with trying to be the best physically, and her outward desires started rubbing off on me. The subliminal messages of beauty portrayed on commercials and in magazines caught more of my attention every time I would see them. I slowly developed into a psycho health freak at the age of fifteen. I would barely eat any food, and the food that I did eat I burned off by running four miles a day. After a few months I had lost a lot of weight yet I still felt ugly and unwanted. My friend would continue to tell me, “if we look like them more people will like us”, even after my drastic change.

                As the year went on, I stayed at a consistent unhealthy weight. I wasn’t losing anymore, but I hadn’t gained it back either. One night my brother persuaded me into attending a Christian conference called Field’s of Faith. At this conference, many high school students gave their testimonies that included various struggles commonly faced by teens. One girl’s testimony particularly caught my attention. She spoke of her serious struggle with anorexia and how it caused her to quit all sports activities and even put her in the hospital. However, during her hardship, she developed a faith in God which saved her life. Later on in my freshman year, with the encouragement of that girl’s testimony and my amazing brother, I also developed a strong faith in God. I learned that he sees me as beautiful no matter what I look like, and that he has a put me in this world for a special reason.

                When Emerson warns us to no go where the path leads, he is it talking about the path that takes us farther and farther away from who we really are. Emerson wants us to be leaders and to not conform to society because we think it will make us “popular”. My problem wasn’t as severe as the girl’s in the conference, but it was something that altered my personality and my morals. Because of my faith in God and his greater plans, I can now make a positive trail, which will hopefully inspire other girls who are going through the same things I went through. Emerson truly wanted people to accept themselves and to stand up for what they believe in, and now I can successfully do that.