Over the weekend I spotted a t-shirt while I was in the mall that I wanted – it read, “Be Who You Are.” The shirt stood out to me mainly because it is my desire that all humans reach and maintain a healthy level of self-acceptance. It also caught my attention because it relates to what I was planning to write about this week. I’ll take it as confirmation – thanks Bobbi Brown!
Love Jones by Theodore Witcher, starring Nia Long (Nina Mosley) and Lorenz Tate (Darius Lovehall) is one of my favorite movies. My brother and I can quote the movie verbatim, which drives my sister-in-law crazy – but I digress. The movie reminds me of some of the experiences I’ve had in past relationships, and it also provides some good advice for life in general. During Nina and Darius’s first date, Darius makes a very profound statement that is fitting for every human being.
In the aforementioned scene, Nina quotes a poem by Sonia Sánchez and subsequently compares herself to Ms. Sanchez’s writing by saying, “She makes me want to burn my notebook.” Darius responds by saying, “…it’s about reaching your level, not hers.”
As human beings it is not unusual to ponder over our accomplishments or the lack there of and compare them to other people. Even though I have seen the movie Love Jones countless times, I hadn’t given much thought to the above quote until recently. We all have our individual abilities that enable us to fulfill our potential – it has nothing to do with any other person on this earth. And the only way we can reach our level is by being who we are.
I want to stress to you, and to me, the importance of our value and individuality. I have struggled with this so, I am reminding myself that my level of success is mine alone. I was born to be Towanda and no one else. I realize operating in this mindset is not always easy, especially because of how visible everyone’s lives are with the use of social media. But, if we truly adhere to focusing on our individual levels I believe we will be just fine.
To me, being who we are means freeing ourselves from fear of ridicule and non-acceptance. In conjunction with allowing our uniqueness to show. Truth be told, everyone is not going to like what you’re doing or how you’re doing it. And that is fine. Generally speaking, we will be much happier once we begin to do things to please ourselves instead of others.
Let’s reach our levels by being exactly who we are.
Until the next time, be you and most importantly – love you.
Being uniquely you is being uniquely beautiful.
-B.B.
