Growing up as the skinny kid whose head had not quite caught up with the rest of him, you tend to act in a certain way in order for people to like you. Even if you do not understand what you are doing or just plain hate it, you do it because it makes you feel special. Thinking back on all the years I wasted trying to fit in and be up to date with the ever-changing fads of the time made me realize a very important belief, I believe that no matter what anyone says or thinks you should always be yourself.
You only get one chance. You only get one life and you have to make the most of it the first time around. There are no second chances and spending it lying to yourself and others only led to regretting all the choices you have made. To be frank, it is miserable; it’s harder to pretend to be something then it is being who you really are. Keeping up with all those sports you never liked, wearing cloths that go far beyond originality, those senseless meaningless talks about absolutely nothing. All the self-inflicted pain and torture you put your body through to look how others think you should. What a waste of years that should have been spent doing something that made you happy, something that makes you feel good inside and out. You do not know when your time is up which is why I spend it being happily comfortable in my own skin. Make your time on earth meaningful. Live a fulfilling life. Make memoires that you will remember forever. Stories you cannot want to tell your grandchildren about, all the trouble you got into or how much fun you had. Make memories that can only come from being who you are and not mindlessly following a fad or crowd. Don’t BS your way through life. Live only for yourself.
You cannot please everyone, and it is not your duty nor is it your responsibility to do so. I was not born to make others happy. If I chose to do so, it is because I want to and not because I am obligated. I refuse to waste my time acting a certain way to make others happy or comfortable. I would rather surround myself with people who like me for me. Get over yourself; everyone has a time where he/she acts weird and there is nothing wrong with that.
Being normal is overrated. Most times, you pretend to be someone else because you feel that who you are is a weirdo. Despite what you may believe, it is okay to be weird. In fact, I encourage it whole heartily. Exactly what is normal? Ask 20 people that and you would probably get very different answers. No one can say what normal is but everyone strives to be it. I do not consider myself normal, but then again I am not one to go out of my way to live up to a standard that does not even exists. I have been called a white boy in a black boy’s body for a long time now. The reason being is that I do not act like a “normal” black person. I happen to like things that fit rather than big enough for three of me, rap is not my first choice of music and I talk using proper grammar. I am who I am and that is all I hope to be. If someone calls me weird I laugh about, learn from it, and move on.
Instead of always worrying about the worst possible thing, learn to laugh gain a sense of humor.
You and nobody around you is perfect, it is those imperfections that make you unique and who you are. Perfection is a race with no end. Learn to laugh at yourself and never take yourself too seriously. Turn those things you call flaws into quirks that define who you are as a person, an individual. Wasting life striving to be perfect for a hole 6 feet under is ludicrous. Do you really think that when you’re dead people will remember all the insignificant things you did called “achieving perfection?”
I think Andre Gide said it best, “It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.”