Be Yourself By Aaron E.
When I was young, I was a kid that hardly had any idea who he was. Growing up, I had
hardly any friends, not knowing what was cool or fitting for a kid my age. At home, I played all
sorts of games that I loved and enjoyed. At school, I was lost and bullied for what I loved to do.
At times, I was even pushed to my limits, doing things to others I regret doing: hurting others
and lying about who I was. Ultimately, I made a fool out of myself and at times, out of the people
that I hurt. For what? Acceptance. I always wanted to make friends and what I was told was that
if you want to make friends, you have to be cool and strong. Well, I was led down a dark path
that I wish I never went down.
Back in middle school, I believe it was 7th grade, there was a rumor about a girl who
was nicknamed a not-so-nice name that I’ll not bring up. I was at the table and the guys there
kept saying it over and over. They looked at me and told me to throw the cup of meat at the girl.
I said no and continued eating. I was told over and over again to do so. I snapped, I said fine.
So towards the end of the period, I was walking towards the band room. I looked behind me and
I saw the girl there. She was a childhood friend, but to get the vultures off of me, I threw it. I
threw the meat at the girl. She knew exactly who it was. I was laughing and it felt good. Well, it
felt good until I got in the band room. She told the teacher what happened and she came to me
asking what had happened. I told the truth and as I should’ve, I got in trouble. The teacher and
the girl's best friend scorned me and ridiculed me. In the end, I felt bad and still to this day I do.
It wasn’t cool, it was a move for acceptance, but at what cost. I realized then I had a crush on
the girl I did that to and I still think it was so dumb, probably because it was.
Because of that incident,
I’m trying my best to make my life better for me and for anyone
else around me. I want to become a better person each and every day and I pursued that this
year, my senior year, and I’m beyond grateful I did.
At school, I was scared of being disliked but I realized I shouldn’t be scared. If I have
true friends, it doesn’t matter what I do or what I say, or even what happens to me. They’ll
always have my back. I realized this year there were a lot of “Imposters Among Us,” so I broke
old relations to forge new ones that were better and healthier for me and the people around me.
With doing so I feel a lot better than I’ve usually felt. Knowing that I have friends behind me that
are genuine makes me feel better and confident in myself knowing they have my back.
If I could give one solid piece of advice to anyone, it’s to always be yourself. Sure, you
may be afraid to be yourself, but yourself is the best self. Not being yourself only hurts you and
others in the long run. Trust me, I know. You can’t beat yourself over people’s views or opinions.
Though, overall respect others. They may not have the same views or beliefs as you. Accepting
them for who they are as a person is the best thing you can do for someone!
