Entry #27 - Lesson on Being Authentically You

Yeah I can do a lot of things, I can go a lot of places, I can dress a lot of different ways, but I have a default and I feel like most people do. It's okay to embrace what you like, even if it doesn't fit the norm. I gravitate towards a certain style as my default, but I can also branch out. Where I go, what I do, what I wear doesn't define who I am. It might dress up my soul and give me a certain flavor, but that flavor changes throughout life.

I hope you never feel boxed into a certain mindset. In some years, you might struggle with procrastination, but that should never define you. It's simply reflective of where you put your time and energy. Sometimes you dress up, sometimes you don't, but again that doesn't define you, it's a reflection of your time and energy.

Maybe one season you experiment with being very blunt honest, but then you meet a few people who are like that, and you don't like how it made you feel, so you tone it down a little. Maybe one year you try out being more passive, but then you have experiences that cause you to change, and you become more direct. It could even switch so often as one day to another. Don't feel like you're closed into a certain way of doing things. This is life. Experiment but most importantly always try to strive to love others. No matter what approach you take, no matter where you put your time and energy, make sure you try hard to not adopt behavior that hurts, hinders or drains people but instead uplifts, encourages, and sustains peace.

Don't feel like you owe anyone an explanation as to why you are the way you are. You are you and your experiences shape you every day. The person you met last year didn't experience what they experienced this year. We are all constantly evolving. We are all constantly growing and if you've never heard it said to you yet, I'm telling it to you now: I'm so proud of you. You've come so far. Life threw blows your way, and you came out victorious, strong and authentically you.