I Can Be Myself

03Learn · Reflection

Reflection

Trying to be someone you are not can wear your heart out. God did not create you to live playing a part or hiding your personality. There is beauty in who you really are. When you learn to accept yourself and to walk with confidence, you are also able to relate to other people in a more honest and free way.

Valentina noticed how some of the girls talked, dressed, and acted in similar ways. It seemed like they all knew exactly how to fit in.

She tried to do the same. She started changing small things: the way she talked, the things she said she liked, and even the way she behaved around others.

For a while, she thought that would make her more accepted.

As time went by, though, she realized that the harder she tried to be like everyone else, the more tired she became. It was as if she were playing a part all the time.

One day, during a conversation with her mom, she finally said what she had been keeping in her heart: “I feel like I have to change so that people will like me.”

Her mom listened closely. Then she said something Valentina never forgot: “The right people will like you just the way you are.”

Sometimes we want to fit in so much that we forget something important: God created us with a personality that is all our own.

Not everyone will talk the same way. Not everyone will have the same talents. And that is okay. Being authentic takes courage, but it also brings peace.