Accept You, Be You, Like You
You’re strange. You’re quirky. You’re weird. You’re different. Has anyone ever said this to you? They’ve said it to me, more times than I can count. But I’m ok with it. There are times people have been very harsh and unkind with their assessment of me, and there are plenty of times that my feelings have been hurt. I’m ok if there are people that think I’m quirky or weird. But I’m not going to try to fit anyone else’s image of what I should be.
We all have a lot of basic sameness, but we are also all unique. There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to fit in with others. We want to have some sameness or commonality with the people we spend time with. But fitting in with others shouldn’t be achieved at the expense of erasing our own identity. I think life would be truly boring if we were all exactly alike. So, I say embrace who you are. Embrace what makes you, you. Embracing who we are certainly doesn’t mean we can’t make changes or improvements. We should always be willing to make changes to grow and get better. But we don’t have to, nor should we try to, fundamentally change who we are. We don’t have to become a different person in an attempt to please or fit in with others.
It’s unfortunate that some people will criticize us for being ourselves. But we aren’t responsible for what other people say and do and we can’t control what other people say and do. We can control only our own words and actions. So, when we encounter someone that doesn’t fit what might be our definition of normal, if they’re not being harmful or destructive, why not let them just be?
Ron Richardson 