To thine own self be true

• Heather: It’s just like Hamlet said, “To thine own self be true.”
• Cher: Hamlet didn’t say that.
• Heather: I think I remember Hamlet accurately.
• Cher: Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn’t say that. That Polonius guy did. “Clueless,” 1995

Today, someone told me that they were done with all the drama and people talking about them. I gave them a little advice, and ended with one of my favorite phrases, “haters gonna hate.”

Trying to please others is a job that has no pay in it. Nearly everyone I’ve ever known has just wanted to “fit in.” But nowadays everything in life seems like a contest to keep up with everyone else. Social media is certainly a factor in this. The constant parade of pictures on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat give everyone a warped sense of what others’ lives are like. Most people only put the good times on social media—they are showing us their “best lives.” And that is what others talk about and even try to compete with.

But not showing the good with the bad is not being true to oneself. We as a society have fallen into a trap of only wanting to see the positive, therefore lulling us into a false sense that nothing bad ever happens to anyone. I try to keep it real in life and on social media. I am my authentic self. What you see is what you get. I am true to myself. I don’t beat around the bush. I listen to others and treat them the way I want to be treated. At the end of the day, I know I haven’t pretended to be something I’m not.

So, tomorrow when you’re at work, at school, or just out and about; be yourself. Listen to others. Look for ways that you can help others. And if somebody doesn’t like that-remember- haters gonna hate! ;-)