It’s awkward. You know the feeling – sitting across from someone who you know does not speak the same language you do. Maybe it’s someone who stares straight through your eyes, or maybe they glance past you not taking notice. It feels cold, annoying, uncomfortable even.
You start to question…
- What am I doing wrong?
- What is wrong with me?
- Who should I be?
- How should I change?
- What can I do?
Stop. Really just stop.
Take it from the girl who talks more comfortably about mental illness and trauma than most “normal” topics; the minute you trade in who you are for who you think you should be you sacrifice the gift that you are to this world. I’d rather meet you any day than some version of you, that this world has somehow told you is socially acceptable. I used to know this guy who could make me feel incredibly comfortable just being me. We would talk for hours sometimes about something and other times about nothing. He was special not because of what he said or did, but that he made me feel okay to be me; and he did this by simply being him.
We can spend our entire lives asking that question: “Who would you like me to be?” and never figure out who in fact we really are. Be authentic to yourself so that others can be true to themselves. What a beautiful gift.
My name is Erin and This is Where I Stand.