On Being Unapologetically You
By Marquita Herald
To be unapologetically you is to own your strengths and weaknesses, dreams and desires, fears, and assorted quirky bits and pieces.
It’s standing firm in the knowledge that imperfect though you may well be, you are a work in progress with infinite potential.
It means accepting and loving ALL of you, not just the pretty parts.
Topics like this inevitably draw the “but that’s so hard” comments. And you know what?
They are absolutely right!
Choosing to own your life, having the courage to reveal who you really are, embracing your vulnerabilities without guilt or shame is not a path for the faint of heart!
The only question that matters is, is it worth the effort?
Your answer to this question is the first step toward discovering who you really are.
Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you really are.
Why It’s So Hard to Own the Real You
For most of us learning to own who we really are doesn’t come easily or naturally.
We begin learning at an early age how good it feels to be accepted, and then spend the rest of our lives carefully hiding the weak or unacceptable bits and pieces of ourselves in an effort to fit in, or at the very least not to stand out too much.
By the time we reach a certain age, we’re not even sure anymore who that person is underneath all of the filters we’ve built up over the years.
So we continue molding ourselves into the person we believe we should be, the person we think we need to be for others to love us, to fit in, to achieve something that matters in this world.
The irony is how easily the thing we fear the most becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The more vested we become in being the person we think we should be, the more we compromise our individuality, and the greater our fear grows because we believe we have that much more to lose.
It’s a vicious cycle that leaves you feeling alone, misunderstood, and underappreciated.
The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being the person you thought you should be to become the best version of who you really are.
Be Unapologetically You
It is exhausting to live an inauthentic life. Worst of all, every time you mask your truth, you’re saying to yourself that parts of you are unworthy.
And yes, the process of learning to own who you really are will threaten some people in your life; it forces them to admit that they too have the power to be more authentic, but they have chosen not to.
Don’t let that stop you.
It will take time to learn to be comfortable in your own skin, but it won’t take long for you to begin attracting people who will love and accept you just as you are, beautiful quirky bits and pieces and all.
Being unapologetically you, no shame, no regrets, is actually the best and most perfect thing you could ever be.
Here’s to living and loving your resilient life!
