Sometimes the hardest thing in life to do, is to be you. Even though that seems so easy, it can be so hard to at times. I understand that we all have personalities that are so complex…there is no one who acts a certain way all the time in all situations, everyone knows that. As I’ve been living in Los Angeles it easy to see the tremendous pressure that is placed on people to be someone they’re not, or to act a certain way or live a certain lifestyle as if it was their own.
One thing I love about people is that everyone has something special inside them… I feel there’s something very unique about every single person; but society wants to segregate us into groups, classes, and brainwash into thinking that we have to look and act a certain way to be noticed/recognized. I know that there are so many young girls out there who will not even want to go outside if their hair or makeup doesn’t look a certain way, or if they don’t have on any makeup. And it’s not just girls… guys have issues too. We should learn how to be confident in ourselves, because it’s not what we put on that defines us, it is what is inside our hearts that defines us.
Having confidence in yourself and having boldness/courage is something not everyone is born with. Most people in life are not raised in households where they are encouraged and told that they can do anything. Most people are raised in one parent homes, and spend a lot of their free time watching television… so in fact their influences are basically popular culture and society, and they have indirectly told them that they are ugly and need to have this or that just to be accepted.
I honestly feel that I was blessed to have the family, friends, and mentors I have; though my parents are divorced. And, I still really didn’t fully understand my own identity until I was in my mid twenties. For a while my life was church, and whenever I would go outside of the church’s social structure I didn’t feel fully confident in who I was. Then it was basketball, and when I stopped playing in college I went into a slight depression. But, I had to learn that my hobbies, my physical body and my interests are simply just a part of me, they are not who I am. And, I had to learn who I was, so I could be me.
Very enlightening article, Jason! I have been on a similar journey and have learned/grown so much as a result. I hope and pray that others will be inspired by people like you to be unique, be themselves, and understand that his/her potential and inner beauty will open doors never even imagined.
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