I promise you this: you’re stronger than you think. Don’t worry, I didn’t believe it either. I went 3 years without believing it. I went 3 years without believing that I was strong enough to get through anything… until I realized that I spent those 3 years getting through it all.
You know that feeling. The feeling that you just can’t do it. No matter what it is: school, friends, boys… it’s just all too much. You let it get to you. You break down. You think you’re not good enough. I promise you, you are.
It took me awhile to come to terms with it. To come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be as smart as Rachel or as pretty as Jen. I’ll never have the ability to make people laugh the way John does when he walks in the room or get parents to love me like Brian. But, all of a sudden, it clicked. I realized that I didn’t have to be as smart, pretty, or bright as others… I was me, and that’s all that mattered.
“I am me.” I repeat that sentence to myself far more than I ever should. What does it mean? I guess that’s the beauty of it. It means so little, but so much at the same time. It means that I am able to handle what life throws at me, but also cry once in awhile because that’s just who I am and what I do. It means that I can surround myself with people and make them laugh with my goofy cackle, or sit by myself in my room watching Netflix. It means that I am aware of my tenacity for success and lust for learning, and that everything that makes up “me” is just a fraction of why it is so important to be comfortable in your own skin.
Like I mentioned, it hasn’t always been like this. But, coming to Michigan, seeing all of the things that this incredible university has to offer to me and seeing where I and all those pieces and bits of me fit in in this insanely beautiful, overwhelming place reminded me that it’s important to “be you,” because no matter what that looks like, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Of course, it’s hard to look at yourself and say “wow, all of these flaws and attributes are beautiful,” but that’s the beauty of it, to me. The beauty of you, the beauty of me, it all centers around our uniqueness. We all have flaws, hell I’m pretty sure I have more than the average person. But, it’s those flaws and how we use them and how we grow with them and how we realize that our flaws make us who we are that shows the beauty of being you.
Because, in reality, those flaws aren’t even flaws. They’re just another piece of me or piece of you that makes up those insanely unique beings that you and I are. And that, to me, is so important to remember.
Thus, I want to remind you that when it feels like you can’t do it, you actually can. You’re overwhelmed, you’re stressed, and you hate how you look today, but please just remember: you are you and I am me, and that’s all that matters.
Photo courtesy of enterpriseinnovation.net.