WHO ARE YOU?

Oh, let’s give a break to that old cliché, ‘BE YOURSELF’.  Many of us have heard people say that to us or others.

 I used to be somewhat frightened and really confused when I heard people say that.  Wondering if it was possible to  jump into someone’s skin or what?

Yes! I can imagine what’s going on in your head right now.  You obviously know your name, age, school, work, career, business and basic stuffs like that.

But, what’s more to you than meets the eyes?  Can you give a second thought to that? How on earth can I be myself when I do not even know who I am?

Hmm! When I was growing up, one thing I can remember always doing was FOLLOWING. In Pidgin English we would say , ‘na anywhere belle face na hin e dey go.’

I thought I knew who I was because it’s just normally expected that everyone should know who they are.  At that point, I could never have been brave enough to come up with any ideas or opinions of mine; it was just comfortable following and always agreeing with everything anyone else had to say.

My dear readers, when you don’t know who you are, you think the worst of yourself and the best of others.  I think that’s the biggest disrespect anyone could give to himself.  

So, you are walking down the street and some ill-mannered person says something quite offensive to you and then you sneak into a shell.  You become shy, arrogant, unsocial, sad, aggressive, an attention seeker, negative, unapproachable, hateful, pitiful and so much more.

I wonder if you know that everyone in this world has one imperfection or the other; for some it’s physically identifiable and for others it’s internal and could show from your behaviour, etc. So what’s the big deal with what you look like or what you cannot and do not know how to do yet?

I am Idara, a teacher and all that. I have learnt to love and trust in myself.  However, I have weaknesses that I have identified, it doesn’t stop there; I have also been able to identify my strengths too.  I have realised that I have equal opportunities as others to be whatever I want to become. I now know that I do not always have to be a follower, I can actually be a leader that the world can reckon with.

However, many voices still come to my head and tell me am not good enough. You know what I say to those voices? Shut up!

Even the greatest warriors get a bit scared sometimes. They still go ahead and conquer because they refuse to listen to the negative voices that will always come.

I was lucky because I had a lovely friend who worked die-hard to make sure I loved myself more than anyone else. The more I started loving myself, the more I looked and felt better about myself. That way I became more confident in my abilities and I have been making remarkable progress in my pursuits.

As for you, no one may physically come to make you believe in yourself and make you do something that you really enjoy. You shouldn’t remain in the shadows. Stop leaning on people’s shoulders; give out your shoulders for others to lean on.

 If anyone is worth being heard right now, it should be YOU.

Some tips you should know

ü  Love yourself

ü  Take care of yourself

ü  What you think of yourself is what other people will see in you

ü  You have equal opportunities as others

ü  Your mistakes do not make you

ü  Don’t live in your past

ü  Try something you enjoy

ü  Don’t be afraid to give out your opinion, it counts.

My job is not to tell you who you are. You tell me what you think of yourself.