A couple nights ago, my mother and I watched The Holiday. I found that even days later, a main point within the movie had stayed with me. All too often people allow themselves to be sidekicks within their own story. This message pertained directly from a heart-to-heart between Arthur and Iris:
“Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason, you're behaving like you're the best friend.” -Arthur
“You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life, for God's sake...” -Iris
What makes someone a leading lady in their own life? A leading lady is someone who takes charge of her life. She is someone who is strong and independent. Someone who does not know how strong she is. She is happy, and her light shines for everyone to see. A leading lady is best described in the definition below:
“Lead-ing la-dy n. – A woman who takes care of herself, lives life to its fullest, goes after her dreams, smiles, laughs, loves herself, loves others, and is happy. She lives out loud, not afraid to be her true, authentic self, the best version of herself. She shows up for her own life” -Topaz
Being a leading lady sounds awesome, doesn’t? So, why is it that so many people allow themselves to be the best friend, when they are actually meant to be the leading lady? We all have the ability to be a leading lady in our own life, but more often than not, we doubt our ability to be the leading lady. We see everyone else shining in their stories, and we believe that it is our role to be the “best friend”. However, I am here to tell you that you aren’t meant to be the best friend. We are the author of our lives, we decide who comes, who goes, and what choices we make. It is completely fine to do things for other people, being a leading lady means not only to love oneself, but to love others, as well. However, we must not lose sight of ourselves just for the sake of approval, or making someone else happy. A leading lady must first and foremost, love herself, and make choices that help her shine in her own story. There is nothing wrong with self-love, and taking care of yourself first. Let your inner princess shine, and do not let other people treat you like you or your needs aren’t a priority. More often than not, once you take care of yourself, and shine in your own story, you are better able to help the best friends in your story find their light as well.
Never forget that we all deserve to be leading ladies, and we all hold the ability within ourselves to become the leading lady. She has always been within you. She is just waiting to shine through your life, once you give her a chance.
