BeYOUtifully You

                Who am I? I ask myself that a lot. Am I sweet? Am I funny? Am I cool? Am I geeky? What is the real me? We live in a world that preaches self-love but does not want to make it easy to practice it. Be yourself, but if you want people to like you, be funnier and smile more. Love your body for what it is, but here is an article in a tabloid about which celebrity looks “bad” in a bikini at the beach. Embrace your beliefs and never be afraid to express yourself, but wait actually you’re expressing your beliefs too much and now you are annoying and preachy. So by these standards, there is no way for anyone to be able to do anything without being wrong.

                The truth is, we’re all kind of wrong. We live in a society where everyone is offended by everything. Did I offend you by saying that? Probably. There will always be someone who doesn’t agree with you or who doesn’t like you. You could be the kindest, most beautiful, most talented, smartest person out there, but there will always be someone who wants to cut you down or criticize you.

                Now, don’t get me wrong. There are things that are universally wrong. Is it wrong to harm someone? Yes. Is it wrong to target someone for their beliefs and seek to hurt them either physically or emotionally? Yes. Is it wrong to purposefully be mean to someone? Yes. There are many things that are wrong, that everyone should be against. We know what is morally right and wrong. There might be certain beliefs that are varying, but we know that if we cause harm to anyone, it is wrong.

                When I say we’re all kind of wrong, I’m talking about our expression of ourselves. One person’s preaching of the word of God might be looked upon as being preachy or condemning by someone else. Someone’s sexuality and pride in who they are might be seen as too in your face. Even things as simple as the way we dress are deemed controversial or odd by today’s standards. There will always be opposing opinions on everything. The thing we have to do is determine if what we are doing is making us happy and if so, does someone’s opinion of us matter more than our happiness?

                We should be proud of who we are. We should embrace every unique quality that we possess and realize that we are fortunate enough to have something that sets us apart from others. How boring would it be if we were all the same, if we all had the same interests, if we all thought the same thing? The world was built upon diversity and there is beauty in difference. Think of all of the wonderful variety in the world: the music, the flavors, the art, the fashion, the writing, and the list goes on and on and on. You have every right to like what you like, every right to love who you love, every right to express yourself as you wish, every right to be who you are. As long as you don’t hurt anyone in the process, do what makes you happy.

                You only get one life and you only get one chance to live it, so choose to live it as genuinely to yourself as possible. What fun is there in being like everyone else? You will not find true happiness unless you follow the path that was meant for you and that you created with your own unique palette. Be a wildflower in a field of weeds. Be 100% YOU!