Someone Else

A few weeks ago I was talking to my Aunt and mentioned that sometimes I wished that I had a different personality, that my hopes and dreams for life were different ones. I'm not sure what answer I expected but the one that she gave rang so true that it has been bouncing around in my mind in the weeks since. Be who you are.

Jenn, she reminded me, if you are the class clown then that's who you are. If you aren't that person and you try to be them anyway, you will just end up unhappy. We talked about plenty of other examples too but that one example stuck with me. I thought back on my attempts to be someone I wasn't when I was younger. I wanted to be the class clown, the kid who was goofy and could get away with it. That just wasn't me though. Adults knew that I knew better and I usually ended up embarrassed for my own attempts.

The advice was so simple. I can always keep improving as a person, as a friend, as a wife, as a daughter but, at the end of it all, I am who I am. And apparently that person is a little quirky. My Aunt told me something else that resonated as well. When you are being the person you are supposed to be, you are a happier person and other people can tell. Maybe I knew that already but sometimes you need to be reminded.

Happy July Fourth all!