Writing about myself has never been easy. I always felt like, “Hey, this is me, umm, yeah.” It felt stiff and robotic. Scripted and not genuine, a small part of who I was. A piece of a whole picture. It took me years before I was able to look at myself as a whole. To see and acknowledge all that I had done well and see all the things I still needed to work on and actively change.
I went through my adolescent years feeling like an awkward mess. You know that moment when you wave back at someone thinking they were waving at you, only to realize it was someone else they waved at? That is how I felt in my own skin.
It wasn’t until later in life I realized I had to make an effort to be mindful of what I needed to focus on in order to start being genuine. Because let’s be honest, being genuine and being ourselves is something a lot of women struggle with. We have so many different roles to play. We are mothers, sisters, daughters, employees, humans and sometimes all of these roles intercept.
How can we truly be ourselves when we are so many other things?
We are afraid of being judged, ostracized, and left alone by the people who cannot accept us for who we are. That fear can hold us back from truly being genuine and showing others our true selves.
I feel very passionately about this journey we take as women. Finding our voice and loving that voice once found is a long, hard road for some. There is doubt. There is fear. And there are many starts and stops. It is a path that we sometimes walk alone because we are hesitant to ask for help.
Like many other women, I work every day to love my voice, travel this path I am on, and be true to the woman I have become. I am mindful of the new start I have chosen for myself. I am mindful of making the right decisions for me heart. I am walking this path to self-acceptance and I invite you to join me on it.
Bethany Flores, RCSWI