Check out this motivating post from our young guest blogger Charley Lebetkin about the difficulties she went through trying to please everyone and finally realising she has the right to be herself.

I am a 17 year old girl that lives in North London. I have great friends and I am extremely close to my family. I have one sibling, a brother who is 19 years old. Since I was a little girl I have always been loud and confident. My parents knew I was going to be a character from the moment I started to walk and talk.

My brother has always been the brains of the family he achieved the best grades in everything. I do not have his brains and will never have them my skills are in the creative side of life. I have always felt my parents aren’t as proud of me as they are of him. The more I think this, the more my confidence gets knocked as I have always felt obliged to follow in his footsteps especially when it comes to education. However I have never given up and I have passed all of my exams so far. I am currently at college and I study music, music technology and media studies.

When it comes to my friends, I couldn’t ask for better ones, they make me, me. I know I couldn’t live without them. I used to be extremely confident and a loud girl but since my friends and I have started going out properly, I have found that they get all the attention because of this I feel like a shadow, I feel I am hiding my real self behind them. I have told them but they tell me not to be so ridiculous and that I shouldn’t think like that.

This has not helped my confidence, it has been knocked a substantial amount. I am still loud just not as loud and bubbly as I used to be and I am wary of what people really think of me. I have started trying to build my confidence again. I know I am only young and can not talk for others only myself but I have witnessed being very low and being extremely happy. The fact I know what gets me low is a good sign because I can change and am in the process of doing that.

Because of my experiences I am able to say to others, that there is no need to compete with anyone else especially your family members and no need to think you have to follow in their footsteps because you don’t. Everyone has there strengths and weaknesses and you have to remember your family will always love you.

Be your own person, love your own interests and there is no need to change the way you are for anyone. That is what I have learnt that I have the right to be ME!