Will the Real You Please Take a Bow?
The real me. That’s tricky. Sure, I see the real me in all of its glory when I rise at 6:25 a.m. to start the day. The bed-head hair, the mascara smudged ½ inch around my eyes, the slightly vacant look on my face that signifies I wasn’t quite ready to wake up and desperately need coffee - yes, that’s definitely the real me…but that’s just the physical, and I can change a lot of that. Give me a little bit of time with the shower, some great hair and face products, and I can give you an entirely different version of what I just described. (And we’re not even talking photo filter apps yet, that just adds a whole new level of change, doesn’t it?)
How about the real me? The one on the inside that many of you don’t see or even hear me talk about. You know, those words we use to describe ourselves. The inside me has core values, a heart with dreams and desires, a soul that might have been broken or faced disappointment. I am a girl with a story – a past and a very real present – that I’m navigating every minute of every day. I love sushi but cannot tolerate a Sloppy Joe anything. I’m a sucker for a good sunset but will admit, if you run into a wall, I will laugh uncontrollably I might wet my pants. I like fashion and style but can’t ever seem to put it all the way together. I cry at the National Anthem yet know every word to a Bieber song. I. am. Me.
Today we live in an alarming time where individuality is stifled. Our current culture shouts that conformity is safe. If you stand for one thing, you are automatically opposed to its counterpart. We are two generations into never experiencing true lack yet we view acceptance as something that should be rationed.
Can I offer up some advice? The world needs us, as in, the world needs you. There has never been a greater time than right now this moment where people need to see you, for who you are and not some watered down, stay low and stick-with-the-masses self. Your uniqueness, ideas, thoughts, dreams, desires and specifically, the way YOU – there is only one of YOU – were created is needed for such a time as this. It is by no accident you were born into this generation and it’s because you have something to contribute. Don’t try to deny it, run away from it, reason with it or hide behind someone else with a similar purpose. It’s you. This place is for you.
For the real you who is created for a purpose must first stand up before she can take a bow. Maybe that doesn’t look like conquering the world, maybe it just looks like spending some time thinking about who you really are. Maybe standing up is deciding what you’re not about, or maybe it’s realigning your commitments to things you are truly passionate about.
No matter what, today is your day. Showing up and being present is your greatest strength. You. Be. You.
How does this message resonate with you? Have you found yourself trying to blend in? Maybe you just recently decided to throw your hat in the ring and get out there! Tell us where you are in your journey with finding the real you.
[title subtitle="Guest Author: Erin Turnley"][/title]
Turnley blogs at truegrace.life where she believes stories can change the world.
Stories can break down walls and dive right through pretenses. I believe we were all created by God with a unique path and purpose. I desperately want to take this message to the world and encourage girls and women to “shake off the beige” and be the color of light they were meant to shine! I write real. I write like you are on the sofa with me in my living room and we are either talking over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine…without edits which means a word may slip out every now and then. I believe we all have a story to share. This is simply mine.
