How many times have you held back doing something only because you feared what people would say? It’s alright, you can tell the truth. I’ve done it even despite me always saying “Be Yourself”.
Why is that?
Simply put, we actually DO care what people think of us even despite us saying we don’t. Be accepted is human nature. We all want to fit into whatever “society” says in the norm, right? To an extent, Yes. But then there are those times that you just say “SCREW IT!” and you actually “Be Yourself”. You may get ridiculed or you may get praised but overall you should feel proud that you were able to “Be Yourself”.
Do you remember?
- In high school and not having brand name shoes or clothes? Those were left for the “richies” or the “preps”, right? You might have wanted to fit into that crowd because you couldn’t. Your family didn’t have the money for such extravagance. Your family could afford to clothe and shoe you and for that you should have been thankful.
- In high school when everyone was getting their drivers licenses and their parents were handing them brand new cars or very nice used cars? And you had to ride the school bus all the way through until graduation because your parents wouldn’t allow you to drive to school. And even if they did allow you to drive to school, you had a $500 heap of junk that you held together with duct tape and dumping fluids into it daily.
- In college when it came time to joining a sorority and you were teased because you just didn’t “measure up” or you were a bit “odd” compared to most of the other pledges?
We felt ashamed of what didn’t have, right? Oh how cruel society is to the less fortunate. Who put society in charge of saying what the “norm” should be? Who is society to judge us for being ourselves?
I’m one to talk
When I started writing short stories, did you know what I did? I created a pen name; a pseudonym, because I was afraid of what my family and friends would say, especially if my books were a total flop. Yes, I was Afraid to be Myself. But now I see where I was wrong. If I love myself and all that I am, I should not be afraid to be me!
