"You were born to be real, not to be perfect. You're here to be you, not to be what someone else wants you to be. Stand up for yourself, look them in the eye and say 'Don't judge me until you know me, don't underestimate me until you've challenged me, and don't talk about me until you've talked to me."
Every day people are judged for being who they are. But my question is why is being yourself considered a bad thing? Why are so many people bullied and ridiculed for being themselves? I see it every day, whether it be for gender, sexuality, race, religion, etc. It is something everyone goes through, but why? No one should be afraid to be themselves.
"By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before." -Edwin Elliot
Being yourself is the greatest gift that you can share with the world. Each person brings something different to the table. Without different personalities, the world would be blasé. We need to stop seeing black and white and start seeing the gray. Everyone chooses who they will be but are scared out of it. I am here to say stand up and JUST BE YOU! You don't need any permission from anyone to be the person you've always wanted to be.
"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live only as you can."
When you give in and be someone you're not, you lose a piece of yourself. You are made in God's image. Every one of us is different in our own way. I remember as a child everyone wanted to make me someone else. They wanted me to be more girly, weigh less and be more "normal," when all I wanted to do was be nerdy and more of a tomboy. I also feel the pain of this when people think I am fine and dandy, and then they find out I have an autoimmune disorder. They say I don't look like I have something wrong.
Our society has come to the conclusion that if you don't look the way they want you to you aren't American. They don't see the fact that "American" is a generic label. Labels are what scare people out of being who they are. But, labels are for cereal NOT people. I am tired of people judging others and making them afraid to be unique. Rock that messy bun, jam out to the loud music in your car, sing horribly and loud. My point is just be yourself. Whether that be nerdy, Christian, Muslim, African American, silly, preppy, a jock, a bookworm, etc. Just rock out to the beat of your own drum!!
"Be yourself. If you water yourself down to please people or to fit in or to not offend anyone, you lose the power, the passion, the freedom and the joy of being uniquely you. It's much easier to love yourself when you are being yourself." -Dan Coppersmith
