“Be Yourself.”

We’ve all heard it a billion times. But what exactly does it mean and how is one to be themselves? It could be generally agreed upon that finding yourself and who you are would be a first step to being this person.

In order to do this it is very important that people listen to their own thoughts and feelings completely independant from the thoughts or emotions of those around them. If they are able to establish how they feel about something as simple as a candy bar and have these feelings completely distinguished from others, you will now become accustomed to forming opinions that you truly believe rather than ones you think you are supposed to have. This will allow you to be more yourself than when other opinions influenced your own. By doing this, it should be easier to maintain a trend of having opinions and hobbies that you truly enjoy despite anyone else's beliefs.

Which leads me to my next point, once you learn to form opinions completely on your own, you must learn to be confident in these feelings and not change them for anyone else. It’s not enough to know what you're feeling, you need to also be sure these emotions stem from you and not others. Sometimes people hear certain opinions and beliefs and are drawn to them. This can be okay, but it is important to also draw your own conclusions. Hating Trump and hating Trump for his actions and beliefs are two very different things. The latter was an opinion formed as opposed to impress upon the person.

Often times people modify their interests to please others or simplify a situation: “Oh I love that movie sure we can watch it.” can be the best thing to do, since scrolling through Netflix for an hour only to continually disagree on what to watch is no fun, but this essay is about being yourself and doing this is lying to yourself and others. It is important to compromise, but not to lie about your preferences. There is a difference between being flexible and impressionable. If you’d rather watch something else say that, even if it is only to compromise and then do what the other prefers. And you never know, maybe they would be interested in the same thing that you are
This may seem minor, but by avoiding these actions, your true personality will come out. You will stop deceiving yourself and find your interests, therefore improving your quality of life ever so slightly. People may start to notice that they truly do not like the zoo, but prefer rock climbing, despite any previous thought that they may have had. Now you are more defined and more yourself. By being consistent and strong in your opinions, despite what anyone else thinks, you will become more sure of who they truly are.

In addition to this, by pursuing interests that you possess, you will likely stumble upon like minded people who share these similar interests. These people may encourage you to be yourself, since they are similar to you. It is important to be as real as possible and not lie about who you are and what you like. People will be attracted to your honesty and sincerity and you will begin to enjoy yourself more as well, since you are being more honest with yourself. People tend to make excuses to justify things in their head. If this can be avoided, what you want will become much more clear and it will be easier to obtain it.

If you're concerned about being judged, don’t be. You’ll likely be judged no matter what. I’d personally rather be mocked for who I really am and things I’ve actually done than a false idea of who I am or stuff I’ve never done.. You can’t avoid people judging you, but you can at least ensure that the things they are saying are true. And if you're being the best you can be, then the things being said shouldn't be bad.

This is one of the many reasons and ways to be the best and most you you possibly can be. In addition to others’ opinions of you or your actions, you will be happier when you are being the person you are meant to be. When people are engaging in activities that they enjoy or are passionate about, they are more likely to be satisfied with themselves and their lives. That is why it is important to follow these steps and begin to be happy.