Before you freak out over the title, hear me out — in my young adulthood I’ve said and done many close-minded things. In layman’s terms, I would often put out negative energy, thoughts, moods, and outlooks on life through various social media platforms whether it be Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram. But then it dawned on me. A lot of people I look up to on social media generally tweet, post, and share things that have inspired me beyond measure. But they have also greatly ruined my mood with their content.

Influencing and inspiring others is not as black and white as I once thought. We’re all human, and whether we like it or not — intend to or not — we influence each other greatly.

All of these factors forced me to take a look in the mirror. I may not be an A-List celebrity, but I’m also not a nobody. And that forced me to accept the fact that whatever I pursue — whether it be fashion, music, art, or journalism — whether I intend to or not, it influences people. I had to get over myself and my ego. People look up to me as they do you. Our lives are bigger than just ourselves — this influence we have over people has the power to be positive or negative. But that choice starts with ME.

Everything IS NOT always perfect. Yes, we’re human, we go through things, we’re not always happy, we at times experience sadness and frustration and want to express it. Trust me, I get it. But we need not wade in our misfortunes, because that too can bring others down — the same people that we inspire and influence. I’ve realized that when we do experience these moods and have platforms big or small, we should take into consideration the people that witness us at our lows. Who knows, we might be teaching others how to help us weather our storms.

So the next time you want to tweet or share something negative, ask yourself two questions: first, who’s going to see this? And secondly, am I helping another individual help myself, or am I digging my own grave by subconsciously drowning in my misfortunes?