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Dare To Be Different
Here’s Something To Feel Good About Today!
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~Judy Garland
I remember the days when all I really wanted was to fit in with my peers. In elementary school a lot of us wore penny loafers. In high school, most of us had really long hair parted down the middle; some of us ironed it to emulate Olivia Hussey in the film, Romeo and Juliet. Skirts had to be short enough to be noticed, but not too short to be sent home from school. The bedroom I shared with my sister was to her liking not mine; Beatle posters plastered over psychadelic wall paper, fake fur throws on our twin beds. I didn’t mind, she was older and seemed a lot “cooler” than me.
It totally surprised me when senior year I was voted best dressed in my class. Here I was thinking I looked like everyone else when all along my peers had recognized something different about me. The creative side that I thought was hidden was apparently visible to others long before I recognized it in myself. Only my best friends knew that I spent most of my high school years dating a boy from out of state, creating art in my bedroom and listening to Rod McKuen poetry records. I did my best to try and hide my uniqueness. I felt that being different would make me an outsider, when all I wanted was to belong.
The reality is that throughout history and especially today, people look up to and emulate those who are fully themselves and dare to be different. Unique talents and skills are admired because it takes courage, fortitude and perseverance to hone them. You may not think you are special but there is something amazing about everyone. Are you willing to discover and step into being the best possible you? It’s a lot “cooler” than being just like everyone else.
Marlene Moore Gordon
Find Something To Feel Good About Everyday!
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