I was eating before work today when my coworker and dear friend slid down to talk to me. As he munched on his acai bowl, he asked me what I was eating, and I humbly replied "cantaloupe," to which he turned his nose up to and said "ew." I then proceeded to tell him how I'm actually afraid to admit that cantaloupe is my favorite fruit, and his response to my consumption of the fruit illustrates why.

In my book, the most popular favorite fruits are watermelon, pineapple, any sort of berry, maybe the occasional kiwi. Please, someone, tell me the last time you've asked someone their favorite fruit, and they responded "cantaloupe." Any takers? No? That's what I thought.

Straight up, this "embarrassment," for lack of a better word, in regard to my taste preferences is appalling to me. Why am I ashamed to admit something I like? This is fruit discrimination, my friends. I almost feel like it's being ashamed to admit you like a person because maybe they're traditional or mainstream. You get what I'm saying?

It's strange. I realized my undying love for cantaloupe somewhat recently, but at the same time, I noticed my lack of praise for it, though I may voice my high opinions of those other mainstream fruits. My quietness on this bothered me because it reminded me of how throughout my life I have remained silent about some personal pieces of information about myself that are really central to who I am and why. Now I'm not saying my affinity for cantaloupe is necessarily central to who I am at my core; however, this realization made me consider how I still find things about myself I bully and feel a sense of shame about and thus almost try to hide in fear of how people will receive and judge these strange and maybe messy parts of myself.

In this particular case, do I care that my oh so lovely friend scoffed at my post-workout pre-work munchies? No. Everyone has different taste buds, and him not liking one particular thing I like does not say anything about my relationship with him, who I am as a person, or who he is as a person. I suppose my entire analysis of my recent journey with my favorite fruit has imparted a greater sense of insight and awareness on how I need to make a greater effort to be accepting, kind, and confident in myself in all aspects and remember that each little quirk I have or experience I've been through contributes to who I am, and if someone has a problem with that, well…too bad. I wouldn't force myself to eat a food I didn't like for approval from others, so why would doing the inverse make any sense?

So with that my friends, have your cantaloupe and eat it too and embrace all the strangeness that makes you, you.