-Being You-

Despite the fact that the title may sound "cheesy," bare with me. (bear? bare? what now?)

Our society is seriously screwed up. 

Like, REALLY screwed up.  

And for us teenagers, this does NOT help with the whole "growing up" thing. (Need I say more?)

We have SO many people telling us SO many different things! What with our peers, our parents, the internet, and just the human race in general, or "society" as we'd say, there is just so much pressure to be a certain way.

"Be pretty, be skinny, but not too skinny, be popular, be funny, do this thing, be this way, be social, be like us, don't be such a nerd, be smart, but not too smart, be good at this one thing, don't do that, you have to do this, don't be so nice, don't be so self-centered, don't be such a jerk, and the worst one of all: 

Be perfect. 

EXCUSE ME SOCIETY, NO ONE IS FREAKING PERFECT WHAT THE HECK. 

It's so confusing! We are dealing with so much change, and our "second decade crisis" as I like to call it. We DO NOT need to have all these people telling us all these things that are often extremely contradictory to themselves.  

Why is it like this?

Why are we so obsessed with the idea of perfection?

As a ballerina, I live in this environment that is in fact constantly striving for perfection, but not in the way I just talked about. We are taught how to make ourselves better, and we are taught how to work hard. Perfection is essentially the goal, (which is frustrating at times since that goal can never be reached) but it's a totally different attitude. 

But really, if you think about it, you spend the first ten years of your life reflecting off of your parents (or whoever is the main "parental figure" in your life.) And then when you are exposed to the world as a pre-teen and teenager, you get all these mixed signals from all these different sources.

It's really the worst time for it to happen! You are so confused as it is to who you are and what the heck is happening to you, and then BAM. A neon billboard flashing:

PERFECTION!

Essentially, the message of this post is stay true to yourself. Stick with your gut, and listen to whoever you feel like is telling you the good and right thing. (Hint: Usually, that's your parents.) 

But make sure that you don't take any crap from anyone who may be forcing their own ideas of who you should be on you. Block them out, and just be your own self. Because that is the secret (and the only way) to surviving our society. Staying true to who you are, and essentially who you want to be. 

As always, leave your thoughts on this topic below. Let's continue the discussion!

-Felicia Kathryn xxx