Is That Your True Self #8

In the story The Necklace the character is fantasized with the conception of how society perceives you based on your social class. She strongly believes that money buys you everything and without money you can't live your life to the fullest. She's convinced that her life is a disaster simply because she has no money. She's not living the life she could be if she had simply married a rich man. When her husband is invited to a fancy dinner she's more concerned about what people will say since she knows that she can't afford the fanciest clothes. Then since you can't complete an outfit without accessories she borrows a necklace that she ends up losing.

As a teenager in the 21st Century we are so hung tightly to each other’s opinions of how people perceive us. We are obsessed with the newest trends, clothes, makeup, hairstyles and hair colors. It doesn’t even stop there. We read and watch t.v. which only promotes what a “perfect girl” looks like, which in turn gives us low-self esteem, body and weight issues, and attempts to diet. Do we care? No, not at all. We will still buy all of that useless junk so that we can be “happy” and be just like any one else.

The truth is each and every single one of us is not alike. We come in all different shapes and sizes. Have different hair and eye color. We’re rich and poor and everything else in between. That is what truly makes everyone unique, but we wouldn’t know it if it hit us in our faces at 500 mph. Instead we hid behind our insecurities. We cover it with a bunch of makeup and uncomfortable clothes and let that mask the true beauty. Unlike the woman in the story we have the choice to break out of the façade and become brave, fearless person that is within us all. Will that ever happen? Probably not everyone at one but as an individual that stands as a statement all on its own. We have the choice to be an individual. A leader and not a follower. When that happens we will become our own person. That becomes the true question in this life long battle of standing by ourselves. Don’t be afraid to be alone because soon others will join you when they see your courage.

When the woman lost that necklace she had to step up and take the responsibility of replacing it. The cost you ask? 10 years of hard indebted labor to pay for it back. The lesson learned was you should show people the real you and not some fantasized version of you. Guess what? It’s what on the inside that counts, not the outside. No matter what anyone tells you.