Social media is a place for us to show a part of ourselves. It is supposed to be a place where we can show off our best moments in life and accomplishments. We often see social media as a tool to show the different sides of who we are. By posting moments of our lives, we are expressing a part of ourselves we wouldn't be able to show otherwise. But what happens when that part of ourselves isn't necessarily "us" and is just the part of us that we show to the world? What if this part is fabricated or made to look as if it is the "real" us?

Social media always has lessons to give us on how to portray ourselves in our Instagram stories and our posts. We are told by others to show only the best sides or the greatest moments of our lives. Everything else is usually kept hidden. But why do we hide this part of ourselves and what makes us afraid to show it? We oftentimes have to "personal brand" our social media accounts. We have to make sure that we only show the part of ourselves or the version that we want others to see, rather than showing our identity.

One of my favorite words is "personal branding." It means to show our identity rather than just revealing a version that we want others to see. As young adults and adolescents, we have gone through many experiences, some of which we don't want others to know about. This is where we start hiding a part of ourselves. A part of ourselves that has helped us grow as individuals and people living in this society.

I've often heard people tell me to "be yourself." Whenever I hear someone say this now, I think of personal branding and all the personal branding stories people have yet to share. Personal branding is a gift from society today. It allows us to be our true selves without fear of the freedom of expression. It allows us to reveal our identity to the world.

Use fonts and filters that are true to who you are- As crazy as it may sound, the fonts and filters we use reveal a lot about ourselves and what we like. For example, if we often use cursive fonts, these can show our feminine qualities and traits. Fonts carry as much meaning as the words they say. It can reveal just as much as if we were to say something about ourselves, if not more. Try to stick with a font style that expresses who you are. Make the font style you use to write your next tumblr post or when you post a new bio, your own. People want to be able to grasp the kind of identity you have, rather than hear it solely from words.

Showcase your hobbies and talents, because you enjoy doing them, not because you have to- Hobbies and talents help reveal the type of person we are and what we are interested in. But we can't show hobbies and talents that we are not interested in on social media. That inhibits the purpose of personal branding our social media accounts. We want to be able to show the activities that help remind us to be ourselves and enjoy life in our own way. We expect ourselves to show the best versions of ourselves, but sometimes personal branding goes a bit deeper than that.

In our social media bios, reveal our identity- As obvious as it may sound, most of us don't really "reveal" our identity. Revealing one's identity on a social media bio means to not only show what we like, but to share something personal about ourselves. That is the way we can truly personal brand our social media accounts. The people that visit our pages, will get to learn something about our identity while also enjoying seeing our posts.