Be Yourself

"Be yourself, everyone else is taken," Oscar Wilde

Many people, including characters in movies, have said this in one way or another. Why is this so hard to do? It should be easy to be the way we were created to be. Unfortunately, from the time we were young, we were given the exact opposite message from various sources including magazines, TV and advertisements.

I remember seeing pictures of pretty girls who had the best clothes, the right size waist, the perfect hair, the light skin, etc. In middle school I struggled with identity because I didn't want to be an African American anymore. I didn't want to be this above average tall girl. Instead, I wanted to be not me. It wasn't until college where I fully realized being me was the best thing ever!

Being me includes being a writer, a thoughtful friend, a patient listener, somewhat of a trendsetter and a creative, among other things. I shouldn't have to change myself to get others to like me. I shouldn't have to change what I look like in order to "fit in" or be "successful." Both these phrases are what I make them, not someone else.

Being yourself isn't something to be afraid of. It's something to embrace and hold on to. Like Wilde said, "...everyone else is taken."

#honest #writer #embrace