“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” – E.E. Cummings

How true is that quote? Doesn’t it feel like we are constantly bombarded by magazine ads, commercials, and pressure from friends, that pull us further away from ourselves? It’s like having a thousand voices telling you who you should be to the point where you can’t even hear the sound of your own voice anymore.

Part of the human condition is that we want to belong. And I, like many others, sacrifice a piece of character to do so. We begin to change how we talk and act just to feel accepted and valued. I struggle with this (don’t we all!), but recently it feels like I’m finally putting on my own pair of shoes.

As my career in music is beginning to progress, I’ve realized what it looks like to live as a person I love—a feat that seems impossible to do sometimes. I feel most like me when I get to tell people –through music, blogs, and good conversations– that they’re loved, valued, and that HUGE plans are in store for their lives.

My question for you this week is “what makes you feel most like you?” Who are the friends that you can be comfortable and authentic around, and what is the occupation that doesn’t make you feel conflicted, but rather, makes you feel like you are in the center of your will, and more importantly, the center of God’s will?

Be around those friends, and strive for that job! Unlock the freshness of what it feels like to love being in your own skin. As Judy Garland said, “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second- rate version of somebody else.”

Ya, I Googled quotes about being yourself…

Taylor