If you read my last post, you know that I addressed why I was making a change in regards to this blog and who I am as a whole. If you haven’t read it yet, head on over and check it out here. Anyways, one of the things that I touched on was how I felt like I put myself in this box, with rules and restrictions on what I could and could not do. These rules are based on what I see in the media and what we normally see in society on an everyday basis. I always think about the the box that society has put you in, it is something that happens daily. This was something that I thought I could take the time to go a little more in depth about, today.
Here’s the thing, as we grow up we are constantly learning about what is and is not acceptable, who we can and cannot be, who you can and cannot be with, and so much more. The funny thing though, is that even though these are things that we hear or that we see in the media, there are still things that are taught to us without us even knowing.
Have you ever realized that when you’re an in high school, you constantly hear about how your 20’s are meant to figure things out, they’re meant for you to have fun and make mistakes, to meet people, to find what you love and so on. Except when you get close to graduating high school, this seems to change. Now, you’re being told that you need to go to college and you need to figure out what you want to do with your life. All by the age of 18! And then you’re kind of confused and panicked because you’ve been told all of this time that you can be whoever you want to be and do whatever you want to do.
Well, until you’re 18 and societies rules make a play and try and force you to pick something to do (even if you don’t love it) or try and force you to go to college (even though you don’t want to). Then suddenly, we aren’t ourselves anymore and we don’t even realize it. Suddenly, you find yourself in the box that society puts you in. Because, to be yourself means to just be who you are, without doing what everyone else tells you to do. It means to be authentically you, and to hell with what anyone else has to say.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware that we live in a time that is much more open to people being whoever they want to be. But do you know why that is? It’s not because all of a sudden people started accepting everyone for who they are, it’s because at some point someone out there decided to be themselves and screw what anyone else thought. Then another person did and another person did. This created a fight for your right to be who you want to be. How do you think our society started to accept the LGBTQ community (yay for that!), again, it wasn’t due to society one day being like oh hey, maybe today we should start accepting people for who they are, no matter who they love or what they like.
No, it’s because eventually some brave souls decided to face their fears, stand up loud and proud, and say this who I am, you can take it or leave it. And they fought, they fought for the quiet, they fought for the scared, they fought for the future and for the past, they fought for the present, they fought for their lives and their rights to be themselves. They are the ones who decided to tell people that you can’t shove them in a box, you can’t force people to be something that they’re not and you can’t love people without fully accepting who they are. So hell to what society has to say, we need to apply this in every aspect of our lives.
Now, before I continue, please let me say that I know this isn’t the first time in history that people have stood up for their rights, it’s just one of the more recent ones and one that happens to resonate with a lot of people no matter what background they come from. I know that people have always had the issue when it comes to the box that society has put you in. Also, by no means am I saying that we are where we need to be. In fact, I’m saying the opposite. I want you to know that this is amazing and these victories are something to be celebrated. However, I also want you to know that it’s still not enough.
It’s not good enough that we still have so far to go to accept people for who they are and it’s not good enough that we shove people in boxes and try to force them to stay there. Without even realizing it, we all do it. We look at a writer and expect them to write about one thing and one thing only, we look at scientists and expect that to be their only passion, we look at hippies and for some reason think that they’re druggies or unintelligent. This is what we need to stop doing, because this is what we all do without even realizing it.
Let’s get back on the bandwagon of figuring out who we are and what we want to do, no matter how long that takes! Let’s love people for who they are, whether they means they like guys or girls, they’re binary or non-binary, whether they want to go Harvard or work in a gas station. You don’t have to agree with any of these things, but you also don’t get to shut people down and make people feel like they can’t be their true authentic selves.
For those out there that want to be you, but feel confined by societies rules. . . break them. Do not stay in the box that society has put you in. Be who you are and be that person loud and proud and eventually, when enough people do this it will silence those who refuse to accept you for who you really are. I guess I will end this will the reminder to be true to yourself, I know that’s cliche, but seriously. . . live your truth. How could you be any happier?
Love, Victoria
