Live the Dreams You Had as a Child and Always Be Your True Self

Have you ever taken some time and looked at yourself in the mirror? I mean really looked at you. Looking past the face, the makeup, the new in-style hair cut you just got. Everyone at some point has. I know I have.

When I really looked at myself, I thought about the way my life was. I thought about my successes and failures. I remembered the good and bad parts of my life. I even thought about what I could have done better. But most of all I saw my true self. Not many people choose to really see that. They ignore what they really know about themselves to try to fit in with the crowd. They say they want to be an original individual, but they constantly fake being them to fit in.

When I looked in the mirror, at first I saw the façade. I saw the me that constantly changed myself to look good and fit in with the people around me. I saw the fake colors in my hair and the makeup people said I needed in order to be friends with them. I saw the way I stood. I stood like I was untouchable and perfect, but still knowing deep down inside I was being a coward. I saw the fact that I was afraid to be my true self because I wanted to impress people.

When I took another look in the mirror, I saw me. The real me. The me that loved the people I was close to. The person that liked to go out to dinner with my family, listen to music, and play with my nephews. I took the time to see myself as the way I wanted myself. Not the way society told me to be. I saw the potential I had to make a difference in the world I live in and the abilities I had that I took for granted. With a little effort, I saw that I could be everything I wanted to be with the right amount of hard work and honesty. I saw me for me, not anyone or anything else.

When people want others to like them, they usually change their beliefs and actions to fit others. They put on a mask to hide what they believe and lie to themselves to act like nothing is wrong. When people act like society's robot, saying and doing what they see on T.V. or from their friends, they forget their childhood thoughts and dreams.

When people are little children, they think about all the possibilities they have for the future. They pick jobs like being a fireman or ballerina. They think about all the places they can go and the people they can meet or the insanely creative inventions and ideas they can create. They never think about what job they could have that would pay the most or what they can do to their body to fit in with the in-crowd around them.

The thought never crosses their mind to get involved in drugs or illegal activities. They never think about what could happen if they lose the truth or their inner self, and they forget how to live through what they believe in because they never think it would ever happen. They when they are young, live a true and innocent life, doing what they know is right, rather than what society tells them.

The next time you take a look in the mirror, be honest with yourself. Look at your successes and failures, your good and bad choices. Try and find what the real you is instead of seeing the society-made self. Look for the dreams and ideas you once had as a child and see the way you'd decide to live on your own two feet. Be true to yourself because what should only matter to yourself is making the choices you want through yourself and nobody else. Just be yourself, the real self, and nothing else.