Celebrating Myself and The Beauty of Being

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?


Day 8-Divine Idea


Imitation has always been somewhat of a weakness for me; there have been many periods in my life where I have wanted things, and I believed that the key to getting what I wanted was to base my actions off of those who already had them. For instance, when I was in middle school thought that acting older meant cursing like a sailor (thankfully, that was in sixth grade and it only lasted for a year). There was a time when I believed being beautiful meant wearing make-up, and a ton of it at that. Honestly, I can't think of a time where I didn't somehow slip into a particular pattern because that's what supposedly worked for everyone else.


But what I've learned about imitation is that somehow it will come back around and bite you where it hurts. Not because what you're doing is a terrible thing, but because it's just not who you are. People don't succeed by directly following in the footsteps of those who have gone before them; they succeed by working hard and allowing their own creativity and personality to shine in the process. 


There is the whole idea that people change, which to a degree is true. But when a person doesn't necessarily change for the better, they will eventually run into a wall. No matter what kind of experiences or struggles you have in life, you never completely forget your core values or who you are on the inside. 


For me, stepping away from imitation meant facing a few truths about myself. One of the most important ones is that I'm not quite like everyone else, and that I have somewhat of a different perspective than most people my age. I didn't want to admit those things because I didn't want it to sound like I was better than anybody (which, for the record, I'm not). I didn't want to separate myself from my peers, either, because I get the feeling that some are intimidated by me as it is. 


Which leads me to say that there are a lot of traits and aspects that make me unique. However, I would prefer not to mention every single one of them; not because I'm ashamed, but  because I would rather have people see those unique things in me as opposed to me spelling them out. Actions speak louder than words, so I find that it's always better to live something out than verbally proclaim it. Plus, there's no harm in being a little bit mysterious, is there?


They say that good things come in small packages. I can only hope that I might be a diamond in the rough; you know, they kind that you can't really find anywhere else.


I don't believe that there are necessary steps to finding a sense of uniqueness in oneself. You just how to allow yourself to be, and eventually certain things will be revealed through emotion and action. Don't worry about putting a particular label on it, or how you will appear in the eyes of others. If there's one thing I have learned, it's that you have little to no control over what others think of you. 


Never be afraid to celebrate the things that make up exactly who you are. Even if you don't know exactly who you are as a person, don't fret. You will figure it out eventually.