Written by Alyssa Lopez
Acceptance, for many, is feeling welcomed and having a sense of belonging. Happiness is something most of us seek in order to make us feel whole. Worrying about how someone chooses to perceive who we are can have a major impact on us. The constant notion of being judged by people and trying to be accepted can, perhaps, lead us to downplay our selves, ultimately dwindling our own happiness. The question we should ask ourselves is
do we want to be accepted or be happy?
“In the past, I always felt like people would judge me, and it was not for anything specific. I have stopped myself from going through with certain situations because I didn’t think I was good enough,” says health science student, Jessie Braganca.
For many, having a feeling of your ear ringing as your name drops from mouth to mouth; the belief of being the mistake; or even the light laugh as you pass strangers can spark self-doubt. This feeling can activate fear – fueling inner thoughts to cloud our minds, causing discouragement.
This discouragement can cause fear of saying the wrong thing and feeling misplaced. “I feel confident with myself, but I have had strangers comment about how ‘big’ I am straight to my face. I am not going to lie and say it doesn’t hurt. Comments like that stay with me,” says health science student, Emma Mckibben.
Instead of allowing the self-doubt to grow within you try to diminish that feeling. There are going to be imperfect days where internal conflicts or criticism will challenge your self-view. In that moment of weakness know that it is okay to not be okay. Take that weakness, learn from it, do not let it define or defeat you, and know you are not alone. Wake up in the morning telling yourself and believing that it will be a good day. Learn to laugh at mistakes, to look in the mirror and know you are beautiful, enough, and to never hold back. Happiness is a state of mind and you have the power to control it. Your own well-being should always overpass wanting to be accepted and aiming to be beatific. Love over hate. Heart over mind. Confidence over fear. Happiness over acceptance.
Mckibben says, “at the end of the day it is just you, so go through life knowing that you are living for yourself and no one else”.