I’ll be honest; I’m a big fan of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine, I admit. I just can’t think of much else I’d rather do on Monday nights (who is excited for next week’s season premiere?! *raises hand*) while drinking a glass of wine. Who else is with me? I KNOW I’m not alone in this.
ANYWAY, my favorite bachelorette, to date, has to be Kaitlyn Bristowe. This girl is the shit (and also one of my very favorite people to follow on Snapchat!). She’s real, honest, and lives unapologetically. She is who she is and she doesn’t give a f*ck about the naysayers. And, trust me, she’s had her fair share of naysayers.
At the end of last year, Kaitlyn spoke at TEDx Vancouver. Her talk was SO inspiring, and I absolutely loved one of her main messages in it. ‘I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for somebody I am not.’ It’s a strong message, and I believe in it whole-heartedly.
A lot of people talked horribly about Kaitlyn and to Kaitlyn via social media tweets, Instagram comments, so forth and so on. Granted, when you put yourself out there like that, it’s to be expected that you’re going to get some fall out and some less than ideal feedback, BUT people can really be mean. Like really really mean.
When someone comments on someone’s Instagram photo, do they not think it’s a real person behind the ‘screen?’ Do they not realize words CAN hurt, and people have feelings, no matter who they are. People can be VERY cruel.
The other day a girl I’m somewhat friendly with could not have been more judgmental in her words as she responded to things I said. Why? I’m not sure. But I know when someone responds in such a way it has nothing to do with me; it has to do with the person who is judging or mean. I know that, but I still wanted to say ‘WTF!’
When I was younger, I’d care more about what people thought, but as time has gone on, and I’ve ‘grown’, I guess you could say, I kind of just don’t care. It’s not that I’m an apathetic person, but I am who I am and if you don’t like me, that’s ok. That’s perfectly ok.
There are a lot of people on this earth. You will NEVER make every single person happy. You will never be liked by everyone. And, hey, guess what? That’s perfectly ok.
Be yourself. Don’t change for anyone. Don’t apologize for who you are. The only way you can live your best life is if you are authentically YOU.
Image via She is Magazine