I recently turned 21, and I took a moment to reflect back on my life. The past year, for me, has been a year of intense growth with trials and tribulations. Despite the tears, disappointments and losses, the events of the past year have taught me more about myself, others, and a few universal truths.

Life is a game of boomerangs: our thoughts, deeds and words return to us with astounding accuracy. Life has taught me the greatest lessons and given me the best gifts. I may have no control over the tests, but I have a choice to either let the lessons devour or empower me. I approach you unassumingly bearing a gift in the form of sage advice.

I finally realized that there was no way I could catch the light, so I had to become it instead. I encourage you to become the light of your own life, and never cease to think of the light you want to see in your life. Dream big. Write down your dreams, goals and ambitions and live for them.

Start investing in your future. Too often, we are only good at talking about the things we aspire to achieve, but actions are weakly followed, just as words are strongly said. If there is something you are passionate about, work towards it. You won’t always be where you are today, so work for where you want to be tomorrow.

When I say start investing in your future, I mean start looking for internships within your area of study, build relationships with your professors, and attend conferences and workshops that relate to your major. You will be surprised at how these small steps can open big opportunities for you.

In the process of visualizing tomorrow, you will inevitably face rejection. I remember applying for more than 20 internships last year, and I never got one. But for me success is moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm. Likewise, you may encounter rejections, but you must not be defeated. It is necessary we encounter these defeats, so we can know who we are and what we can rise from.

Believe in yourself so hard that it does not affect you when people doubt you. Only you have the power to choose who you want to be. I want you to be the best version of yourself and maximize all your capabilities. Aim to be the grandest, greatest, and the best you can be.

I will leave you with this: love out of compassion, not out of loneliness. Find your own happiness before leaving pieces of yourself in others. Love is something that starts with you. The relationship you have with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have in life.

Don’t take love so wrongly that you start chasing people to compensate for your self-love deficit. Instead of looking for the right person, work to make yourself the right person for you, and the right person will be drawn to you based upon the work that you’ve done for yourself.

We are still in college; we have a huge life ahead of us. We all still haven’t got it completely figured out. We remain paradoxes of contradiction and unfinished masterpieces.

Just take it day by day.