I’ve struggled with this problem myself. I always used to worry about what others thought about me. I would see them staring at me and then a thousand thoughts would be whipping through my head. “Why are they staring at me?” “Do they think I’m a strange person just because I am sitting down?” “I wish I were normal.” Thoughts like that were what stopped me from living to my fullest potential. Everything I did would be almost completely based on what others would think of me afterwards. Everyone has a different opinion of life and what is right and wrong, normal and abnormal, beautiful and ugly. Therefore, it is impossible to be who the world wants you to be. But it is possible to be who YOU want to be.
It took me a while to figure that simple statement out. The only way I could realize that I would not want to be anyone else is by being myself. Once you open yourself up to the world and let whoever wants to accept you for who you are. Sure, you are taking a risk when you do this. You are risking losing some friends. Frankly, though, are they really your friends if they cannot accept you for YOU? And by being yourself think about all of the new and even closer friends you will gain. Those new friends may have been there the entire time, but you never chose to hang out with them since they weren’t as accepted as everyone else. All that truly matters is that you accept yourself. The rest will follow.
“But I don’t know who I truly am yet…” It’s fine to say that. It takes a long time and a lot of work to find out who you are at the core. If you are not ready just yet to take the plunge and be yourself, then that’s okay too. That also takes time to work up the courage. When you do find yourself and the courage to be that very person you know deep down inside you are, then take the plunge. It may be a long way down sometimes, but there will always be someone to catch you at the bottom. And that person may be the last person you thought it could ever be. Just take that first step, and the steps that follow will become easier over time.
“How do I know if I am not being myself?” The answer to that is simple. It takes more work to change who you are for others than it does to be yourself. So if it seems like you have to try and think about everything when you are out in public, then you are most likely not being yourself. Truly being whom you are inside should come naturally and easily. So, “who says you’re not perfect?” The simple answer is who really cares what they think? If you think you’re perfect, then YOU are perfect.
