Being afraid to be yourself.

Being afraid to be yourself shouldn’t even be a problem that people come across. But unfortunately, with pressure comes the feeling of not wanting to show who you really are. It happens both in real life and on social media.

When I was in high school, I had a small group of friends and I wasn’t one of the ‘cool’ kids to put it simply. I’ll be the first one to put my hands up and say that there was times that I watched what I said or did, just in the hope that I would fit in with what I thought were the ‘cool’ kids. How naive of me. The feeling that I had to potentially hide who I was, just to fit in with people who now I don’t even talk to or see.

Today, you are you. That is truer than true and there is no one alive who is you-re than you – Dr Seuss

Fast forward to when I made this blog. Obviously my life is completely different to everyone else’s. The fact that I had my daughter 17 days before my mum had my brother is a big reason why I am so different. I have tried to be as transparent on my blog and social media as I can. Trust me, when there is the pressure of the wanting to fit in online. It can be hard to be yourself. You can feel like you don’t want to show the negative side of your life, the down moments. You feel like you can’t share the little things that make you, you. We all have those little things that make us a bit different or so we think. The pressure of wanting to impress and be part of that online community is a huge weight on your shoulders. Of course, it is easy to say that you should just be yourself and if people don’t like you then it is their problem but when you are trying your hardest to make your place as a new blogger, there is the temptation to hide certain things in your life that you don’t think fit in with the online image.

It might sound quite sad that I am having to say this and to be honest I feel a bit silly even wanting to write this down and talk about it. To have to remind myself that I must just be me online and just say it how it is. No hiding behind the screen. You need to be yourself, no matter what people will think of you. It takes some confidence to live a life were you are 100% yourself and not to care about what others think. But you can’t live a life, pretending to be who you really are. It’s not how it works. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hid who I was, if I hid any aspect of my life that I thought people find odd or unique. Those are the things that make my blog and my life, mine.

In a way society give us a image and that is what is ‘normal’ and I hate that word. Normal is not a word that should be used to describe a person because in reality no one is. This is normal or that isn’t normal. No. It is you and you don’t need to be the norm to live your life.

I live by Dr Seuss quotes. I believe that everyone should read one a day. The stories and just how they are written is not in the conventional ‘normal’ way. They can teach you all about being yourself and just give you that push of motivation.

Sometimes that is all you need. So remember to just be yourself, don’t hide behind anything. Don’t stop the real you coming out just to fit in. I spent a long time feeling like I needed to watch what I said or did online because I wanted to fit in. I have made more friends and I feel like I have been more success full with just showing the real me. Some people will like you, some people will understand you and some people will not like you at all but just be genuine to yourself and do it to make yourself happy.