How to Embrace Being Yourself

I am weirdly good at Candy Crush. My favorite midday snack is Cheetos with a Diet Coke. I can’t stop buying plants. I follow the Bachelor franchise unironically. And I take medical advice from TikTok. These are all things my family loves to make fun of me for, considering I am shockingly not a 20-year-old college girl.

A woman of my age should have given up on these things by now, I suppose. But something I’ve learned after all these years is to unapologetically love what you love.

Who cares if it’s not trendy? Or impressive? Or makes people awkwardly laugh when you share that this girl on TikTok says that every middle aged woman should be on hormone therapy?!

Love what you love. And maybe double check with an actual doctor to confirm some things.

I sometimes think that curated social media feeds make people boring these days. A certain look, popular trends and filtered everything conform us into being like everyone else. When the most fun part of being human is the unique way we’ve all been individually created.

I love when older women dye their hair bright pink or get a full sleeve tattoo. Although I have neither of those.

I can’t stop watching people create custom soap bars even though I haven’t used a bar of soap since fifth grade.

The way some readers meticulously catalog books they’ve devoured or ones they don’t want to finish is impressive.

I can’t even admit the time I invest in picking out the perfect planner. Or how many markers it takes to properly notate my family’s schedule.

Fully embracing the person you were created to be is a great way to find other people who love the weird thing you love. My husband will never understand how I can watch one man fall in love with 30 women, but a few of my friends will dissect every disillusioned relationship on The Bachelor. I can barely ride a bike, but several people I know have found a valuable community along the trails of southwest Missouri.

Love what you love. Even if everyone else loves it too. Or when your family rolls their eyes. And especially when no else understands. One of the best gifts you can offer the world is to be who you are made to be. As cliche as it is, no one else is exactly like you, and your uniqueness is what makes the world a brighter place.

You matter. Your place on this earth matters. In silly ways and much more important ways, who you are brings value to the people around you. Sometimes your gifts are so ordinary to you that it’s easy to forget how you’re extraordinary to other people.

Love what you love. Especially when others say you should have outgrown it by now. Who do they think they are... a random girl dispensing medical advice on TikTok? I will promise to stop listening to that if you promise to unapologetically be who you are made to be.