Wear Your Pride

“It is my truth and I look damn fine walking in it” says Chyler Leigh in this amazing article that she wrote in honor of Pride month. Chyler is an actress and the Co-Creator of Create Change along with her husband Nathan West. I can’t express how much I respect and admire Chyler for all her work at Create Change to help many communities in the world. The article is packed with emotion and truth from her past and present experiences with topics such as, Labels, Mental Health, Body Image, and her personal and professional growth within the LGBTQ+ community.

Over the years, Chyler has been vocal and involved about the subject of mental health and its intricacies. She built up the courage to share the struggles with bipolar disorder and it gave me the same strength to share my battle with PTSD. After my traumatic accident, I felt the need to lock myself away in a dark space physically and mentally. I have distanced myself from family and friends long before this pandemic and now that people are also feeling unsure about these times, I felt compelled to share with them how I have been getting through each day with my hobbies such as drawing, writing, and creating music. People have been getting back to me and sharing how they have been inspired to make the most of their quarantine with multiple creative projects and it is very fulfilling.

“Life is such a colorful journey. Some days are dark, some days shine, and some fall somewhere in between. No matter where you are, take a moment to look inside and find pride in exactly who you are because no two journeys are alike. SO, raise that flag, create that painting, draw, knit a sweater, sing and do whatever is in your heart.”

The article explains how body shaming on social media and the toll it takes on people especially the younger generation and the emotional burden that comes with it. Growing up here in Hawaiʻi, there wasn’t a lot of body shaming between people I crossed paths with, my classmates and friends because we happen to be friendly and loving. Now that I’m an adult there are people – natives, tourists, and locals of all ages jumping on the bandwagon of tearing people down to make themselves feel better and it pains me to see this happen to everyone who has come so far in life and who is just starting to figure out who they are.

An excerpt from Chyler’s article:

“It’s one thing to make a comment about a person or circumstance based on the information we’ve collected – that’s our duty as humans… to be informed. Think before you speak. Check your resources and be willing to be challenged. I believe being influenced can go one of two ways. Best case scenario, it can inspire and drive you to seek the truth out for yourself instead of following the flock. On the other hand, it can be used as a means to make a quick comment or judgement based solely on the idea of “Well if so-and-so said it, it must be true (or false)”.

By reading this article, it had me rethinking things that I have questioned and things I have heard from people before. It made me realize that if we lead by example, meaning that we as humans should do our parts to make things better in the world and then people will soon follow and generate the same positive energy needed to be the change. I understand that to be a decent human being can go a long way in any case whether someone you know is going through a chapter in their life is that they need love... not hate.

Side Note: This article is a part of the Create Change Website, it requires people to sign up for the site to read it's content. It's very fast, Free, and totally worth it! Check out the link below!!