Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Do you have a moment seared into your memory? Mine is right around high school graduation. I got myself ready for the big senior photo in the stadium bleachers. Got in the car and Strength, Courage & Wisdom by India Arie started playing on my CD player [insert elder millennial joke here]. I loved that song but these lyrics suddenly hit me differently…

Inside my head there lives a dream that I want to see in the sun

Behind my eyes there lives a me that I’ve been hiding for much too long

Cause I’ve been, too afraid to let it show

Cause I’m scared of the judgment that may follow

Always putting off my living for tomorrow

It’s time to step out on faith, I’ve gotta show my faith

It’s been illusive for so long, but freedom is mine today

I felt a massive shift and said out loud to myself, “after graduation, I never have to see any of these people ever again in my life!” That realization was like a weight off my shoulders. The expectation of who I was “supposed” to be completely dropped. I knew at that moment I could be anyone I wanted to be…like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. 

At 18 years old, I felt like I had unlocked a secret code to life. Now…it wasn’t easy to implement the “I don’t care what you think about me” attitude. That took years and years of practice, and if I’m honest with myself, I don’t think we can ever truly stop caring what others think about us entirely. We can strive to not let it negatively affect us though!

Years later, I heard someone say that nobody cares as much about you as you do. Usually, we are so caught up in ourselves, how nervous we are, or how we might be perceived by others…but everyone else is doing the same. So, my challenge to you is this: 

Try on a new version of your personality the next time you’re in an unfamiliar setting – the more strangers around you, the better. Really give it a go and be someone you wouldn’t normally be – like the chatty, outgoing, complimentary person who tries to make everyone else feel good about themselves. 

Send me an email and let me know how it goes!

~April

april@semiconventional.com

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