"You don't have to be perfect to inspire other people. Let them be inspired by the way you deal with your struggles, your hearthache and your imperfections."
-poemsporn_
I have a confession to make. I despise social media. From the perfect smiles and perfect vacations to the never-ending joys without a tear in sight. And for a perfectionist who fights internally over every tiny detail, I've learned to detest it even more.
Saying this; however, I know that I am not alone. Why else would individuals take to Youtube and Facebook to highlight the parts of other's lives that are otherwise hidden from the square box of Instagram? The anxiety and depression many secretly feel. The fears of being less than and left out when compared to their peers?
Two years ago I finally had enough of the incredibly fake facade that dictated mine and many others lives. No longer did I want to smile "pretty" and hide my darkest fears from society.
I decided to allow the curtain to drop
To disallow myself from hiding behind the very thing I believed was saving me. I decided to be honest with myself and everyone else around me. I decided to utilize social media as an outlet to heal from and accept my own imperfections instead of masking them.
And do you know what happened when I did?
I finally began to feel truly alive
No longer chained by the constraints of social media perfectionism, I finally began to find peace. Peace in recognizing that it is okay to not be the perfect girl with the perfect job and guy in tow. That I could be messy. That I could be unsure, and most importantly that I was only 20 years old and still had a lot of mistakes to make anyway.
When I learned to find peace in my imperfections, I began to feel more joy than ever before, but what surprised me the most was how many people began encouraging me for doing so.
How people began to thank me for being "brave" in my honesty because they never believed they could do it themselves. And in all honesty, that hurt me some. That we have taught generations to become ice and conceal their emotions. That we have trained feeling humans to drop every emotion but happy at the door and expected them to never hurt or struggle with the growing requirements of perfectionism.
To this social standard, I say no more
No more "perfect" Instagram pictures. No more perfectly made vacations and outfits that were likely returned right after the picture was captured.
From now on I want real. I want messy. I want people who have struggled but are willing to love themselves despite that. Most importantly, I want people who are learning to be okay with not always being okay.
People who will admit that not every day is legendary because some will simply be ordinary, and nothing is wrong with that. There is something truly beautiful in the struggles of daily life. In the struggles of heartache, in the loss and in redemption. Remembering why we so quickly cheer on the underdog in every game or movie we ever watch: because we see part of ourselves in them.
This month I challenge you to consider what it is you are looking for in social media and in your life. The perfect and the imperfect, and if you are so willing, to drop the mask with me. Because after all, this is when you become truly alive.
