Never let anyone stop you from being yourself or doing what you enjoy. I'm just going to get straight to the point. A lot of people spend too much time worrying about being made fun of or being judged for doing things that they personally like and they end up hiding their true selves or they end up keeping a ton of secrets. And it makes sense—the world is full of a bunch of people who are quick to judge and spew hateful words. Just look at the comments section of any YouTube video and try and tell me that I am wrong. Being judged or shunned can be scary and nerve-wracking, but it has to be something to be overcome.
I try to not care about what people may think of me and just live my life, but honestly, I can get a little self-conscious at times, and I will end up just going quiet and keep to myself. Though I always try to maintain my identity at all times. I love comic books, anime, and all things geeky, and almost every day I wear some sort of graphic T-shirt showing my obsession with my favorite fictional characters. I have a pork pie hat that I like to wear when I go out, and though I have a few friends who say it makes me look like a tourist or a hipster, I really do not care. I like my hat so I wear it when I want to. I am Mexican, and when people ask about my ethnicity (which happens more often than you would think), I let them know that I am Mexican and that I am proud of it. I am also a Christian and am always happy to share my beliefs. There are times when I get to have a discussion about religion with others of different denominations or religious beliefs. But I always remember who I am and what I love.
I am a writer, and as a writer, I have learned that I have to embrace my weirdness without fear in order to write that which only I can write. If I am afraid of people hating what I write or thinking that it is too strange, I am never going to show people my work. And if I do not do that, I will never get published and make a living off my writing. That is why this subject is so important to me.
So whoever you are, do not let people stop you from being you. If you are a college student who wakes up at seven on a Saturday morning to watch your favorite cartoon, do not let anyone ruin your fun. If you are obsessed with cats and get all giddy whenever a picture of a cat shows up on your Facebook feed, do not let anyone call you crazy. If you rock out to Japanese songs that you do not know the words to, ignore all of the haters. You are not hurting anyone, you are just being awesome. That is right—you are awesome, so enjoy being weird and enjoy being you.
