Hey y'all! I know my previous posts have had some sassy comments and jokes, but this post topic is sensitive and deserves to be handled delicately and with respect. So please excuse my lack of humour.
When you were but a wee, young tot, you probably dreamed of becoming a doctor, a firefighter, maybe even a princess! The point is, you dreamed about being something.... something great. You were probably really proud of your aspiration too, exclaiming your dream matter-of-factly to whoever would ask. Life is so much simpler through the eyes of a child. You knew what you wanted to be, but you didn't worry about who you were. You never second-guessed a friend, or judged somebody for something they liked or something they wanted to be. You naturally accepted everyone because you didn't know any better... you were untainted by society's expectations and prejudices. Unfortunately as time progresses, acceptance is harder to find.
AFRAID OF YOURSELF
Before I completely lose you, the reason I decided to write this post was because I was inspired by my friend. He is in university; a straight A student, impossibly kind, the funniest kid you'll ever meet, oh, and very, very gay. Growing up, he was terrified of coming out to his parents and friends. Society has not been very "tolerant" of homosexuality and because of this, my friend was never able to express who he truly is. He remained quiet about his sexuality and pretended to be someone he wasn't. Fortunately for him, when he decided to come out (very recently), his parents and his circle of friends were (and still are) supportive and proud of him! We love him to death and would accept him even if he turned into a donkey during the full moon. It pains me to think that he thought he couldn't initially tell us! But his exact words were, "It's not you... it was everyone else."
What? His comment left me dumbstruck. But he was right. Society is so hard on people who have unconventional traits (I really don't know how else to phrase this... not being the stereotypical Adam or Eve?). It's not just the LGBT community either. For example: Racism and sexism are still problems too! The worst part is that a lot of people are so desensitized to these issues that they don't even realize that it's happening or that maybe they're contributing to the problem themselves! It's the little things: the negative comments, the jokes, the stares, anything that remotely makes someone feel uncomfortable, unwanted, and unaccepted. It all fuels the fire.
You might be asking, "how is this relevant to your blog?"... Well, I'll tell you right now! This is ALWAYS relevant. But sticking to this blog, our teenage years and our twenties are possibly our most vulnerable and influential when it comes to developing our identity. High school and university are times where we seek social acceptance. You experiment, try to find your "group", test out new hair styles, wear weird clothes, listen to strange music, maybe even try out some not so great things. It's all a part of the process of our development and without this stage in our life, we'd be lost in identity limbo.
Identity is a touchy subject at the best of times and most of us struggle and will continue to struggle with finding ourselves. But imagine what it is like to be afraid of who you are, to fear that people will despise you for being born a certain way. Imagine being scared to even try to find out who you are. It's the average identity crisis x10000 and quite frankly, it's appalling.
Nobody should be afraid of themselves. No one should have to wake up and look in the mirror, hating who they see. Everyone is different. It's just something that we're going to have to accept.
STAND OUT
If you can look at yourself, and I mean truly look, and say that you know exactly who you are and are comfortable with it, then I applaud you. Really!
But think about those people who are not as fortunate. Look at your friends, family, neighbours, strangers... Maybe they haven't found themselves yet. Maybe they're still hiding, ashamed to be who they are. Maybe they're scared that if they reveal themselves fully, then society will tear them apart.
BE THE CHANGE
It's inevitable. Society will always judge. There will always be people who do not accept certain sexualities, races, religions, etc. But progress is possible. Acceptance is possible. And it starts right here... With us. Be a friend. Listen. Try to understand. It's the only way to move forward and leave all of this judgemental crap behind. The only way to change things is to do it ourselves. If we begin to accept and support variety in our world, maybe those people who are terrified to be different will find the confidence to step out of the shadows and finally LIVE.
To all of those people who are scared, to everyone who is hiding, to every single person who has ever wanted to change themselves just to fit in, I say this:
SHINE. Be yourself. You are a perfect little ray of sunshine and everything you are is unique and beautiful. Do not let anybody take that away from you.
Conformity is overrated. Dare to stand out and be YOU.
As always, it was a pleasure blogging for you guys. Until next week,
Taylor xx
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