If You Take Anything From This..

I was raised in a home where what other people thought meant more than what you thought. I remember thinking “there is something wrong about that”, even at the young age I first realized what this meant. I have always wanted to live my life out loud. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t share everything and I definitely don’t want that. But what do I want? I want a world in which we can wear what we want, be who we want and as long as our actions aren’t harming or negatively affecting others, then it would not matter to them. But instead .. we hide so much of ourselves in fear that people will judge us and probably worse, leave us. I am here to tell you that you can share all your dirty laundry and be exactly who you are and I will love you just the same. And if you have the right people in your life, they will also love you just the same.

Especially in the climate our world is in, acceptance is needed more now than ever. I have truly never understood the practice of judging someone because they dress differently than you, act differently than you, think differently than you and/or respond differently than you. Our world would not be what it is today if we were not all so vastly different. If we all thought, felt and acted the same, then life would just not be as fun. We need different personalities, perspectives, opinions and attitudes to create such a diverse and beautiful world. And it creates better relationships with your people.

I always thought it was better to hide your feelings. Then one day I just screamed "I AM NOT OKAY!!!!!" and the people that shouted back "ME EITHER!!!" were a lot louder than the people screaming "Shut up!" .. so i kept going. I told people when I wasn't okay, I overshared and I made sure people knew how I felt. It will make people hate you but the best people will come into your life and make it even better. It isn't normal to always feel okay. Even the best people break and THAT IS OKAY. It is OKAY to not always be okay. You know what else is okay? To be exactly who you are. If you are comfortable in black skinny jeans, do that. If you’re not the type to go out and drink, don’t do that. I could continue listing examples but it all boils down to on point. Be who you are, say what you want and do what you want.. nobody can tell you who to be and you shouldn’t listen to anyone that tries.

Your people are the people that find you, love you and take care of you no matter what. They will cry with you, laugh with you and not judge you. They’ll ask questions before writing you off. Your people will not be upset if you cry, scream and have bad days. The best ones will join you. No one will judge you if you just hit focusing on that. Focus instead on what makes you happy and who makes you happy. I have learned that surrounding myself with different levels of sunshine, is what makes me care less about what others think and say. If you have people, animals,hobbies, etc that bring you true happiness .. you will not care how others feel about those things.

I know this piece was all over the place. But if you take anything from this, I sure hope it is this; stop caring what people think of you. I know it is A LOT easier to say that than to follow through with it .. but trust me, you can do it. Start slowly doing more of what YOU want and slowly, you’ll realize that your opinion of yourself is the only one that matters.