Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken

This was really awsome to read.
I am a type of person who is always trying to pleas everybody else, and I don't know who I really am.

The points the author raised, with the obvious exception of #6, were fine as far as they went. However, 'just be yourself', by itself, is about the worst advice I've ever heard.

People who expect to be accepted for who/what they are, without qualification, are living in a fantasy world. 'jby' works fine for naturals, people who are naturally good with other people, who obviously don't need the advice in the first place.

But for the rest of us, who didn't choose our parents so well or have lived under less than ideal circumstances, we have to do more. We have to be our BEST selves. To present ourselves in the best possible light. And if that isn't good enough, we have to improve ourselves.

Many of us have been told all of our lives by family, classmates, the media etc.. that we weren't good enough b/c we were different...not thin, smart or pretty enough, etc.. Well, I believe that the person in the room who appears to be the most beautiful & confident has their own insecurities, even if the rest of us can't see them. In my 50's, I have started to embrace my little quirks & care less what others think. Yes, I still need improvement in some areas of my life, but it takes the pressure off to start by accepting myself where I'm at now, a unique, creative, chatty, kind & full-figured woman who has a thing for bracelets.