I think I had a very monumental self-discovery over the past month. I’ve been traveling for 18 days in New York City, the Philippines and Los Angeles. A lot of the time on trips, I really like to go off by myself and walk around. I know people I’m with probably think it’s weird, but that’s my thing, you know?

I like to pop my ear buds in, listen to some fresh jams and explore. I feel like I’m not only exploring the city, but myself as well. Okay, at this rate you probably think I have a massive porcelain Precious Moments collection at home. I’m telling you, though, I’m about to let you guys in on my revelation.

Be yourself. That’s it. We all have heard that so many times, but I think I’ve finally found that to ring so true. The funny thing is, I didn’t have to stay in the mountains of Tagaytay for 10 days to realize that. Trust me, I’m just trying to spare you the 26 hours of travel time (for once I’m actually not exaggerating).

We all go through our whole lives with this insane hunger to fit in and be liked. We want to wear the latest trends, blurb out on social media how our day is going like anyone in the world really wants to hear our pathetic excuse for a cool life and own as many Apple-related products as we possibly can. Why? So we can be happy?

During our stay in the Philippines, we each had a bodyguard. We stayed in a beautiful home in the mountains. We worked hard with the police, but we, for the most part, saw the better parts of the country. I had the pleasure of riding around with Allan “Iceman” Casanas for nearly seven hours one day. He is a motorcycle cop and absolutely loves his life.

He took me to some places where people were living in some of the saddest conditions that I’ve ever seen. They had no running water. There was no Wal-Mart, but rather a small general store with food and necessities for sale. You know what’s funny? Those people had no idea that they should be moping around. They had no idea that they weren’t well off.

There are young men that are taken off of the streets, brought in by Pastor De Torres, who is the chaplain of the Philippine National Police that we worked with, and allowed to live at his church. Those guys go to school at the church in the morning and learn not only in their native tongue, but English as well. If they came to America, the education system here would be so beneath them they would be shocked.

Not every country with a large population of impoverished people is like what we see on TV, with every person crying because of how horrible their lives are. In fact, the people I was able to meet were some of the happiest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. And there I was complaining about not having hot water, American food and cable TV.

Some of us have lost what really matters in life, and I guarantee you that it is not “things.” I think everyone can take something away from my experience, even if you never get a chance to work in another country.

Do what you do. Be yourself. Be who YOU are. Appreciate the things that are given to you in life and love those around you unconditionally. You’ll find that your life will be a lot happier that way.