Being The Most Authentic ‘You’ Is Worth The People You Will Lose Along The Way

It’s tempting to play pretend and put on an act in order to keep the peace with the people around you. But even if you can keep up the act for now, you are eventually going to grow to resent the fact that you have to hide bits and pieces of yourself in order to be loved and accepted. After all, that isn’t the way it’s supposed to be with healthy families and friendships. Although there are people who will only love you under certain conditions, they aren’t the ones you want in your orbit. You’re better off showing the real you, so you can surround yourself with people who appreciate who you are at your core. Not a pretend version of you. Not half of you. They should love all of you. Every little piece.

Being your most authentic self isn’t easy when everyone thinks that you’re someone you’re not, when they’re placing unfair expectations on you, when you’re worried sick that you’re going to disappoint them somehow. But being the most authentic version of you is worth the people you will lose along the way. It’s worth the struggles that you’ll face when you first start putting your raw, uncensored self out there. Although some people are going to wish you were quieter about who you were, they aren’t worth your time or frustration. No one who actually wants the best for you would ask you to shrink yourself to make them more comfortable. You should never feel pressured to lie or wear a mask in order to make your loved ones proud. You should lean into who you really are because that person is more than enough. You might not feel that way right now, but you will get there eventually. You will see the beauty in the real you.

Becoming your most authentic self isn’t always something that’s meant to happen overnight. You are allowed to move at a slow, steady pace. You are allowed to take your time. Even baby steps are steps in the right direction. You should be proud of yourself every time you shed another layer, exposing the real you. You should give yourself a pat on the back whenever you are honest with someone else about who you are, or even when you’re honest with yourself, because being that raw and vulnerable isn’t as easy as it looks. It can be heartbreaking, giving up so much in order to reach the place where you belong, in order to become the person you were always meant to be. But it’s worth it in the end. It’s worth the sleepless nights. It’s worth the people that you will lose along the way. Because for every person who leaves, you will find someone new who will stay. Who will love you for the real you, not for what you can do for them or who they mistakenly think you are. Their love will be real. Their love will overshadow any love that you might lose.