I love the My Fabulous Self Campaign and have been following it for years now. Has it been that long?!!
The reason I love it? It is not easy being yourself and harder still is expressing or living who you are, how you feel, and your choices and goals for yourself.
I have undergone many phases in my own life. Of low self-confidence and depression, finding the beauty in nature and always being positive, and now being truly authentic. I may not be perfect and there may still be periods of self-doubt, but you know what’s great about who I am today? I am comfortable with that!
Three years ago, I felt a dramatic shift in my being when I traveled to South America by myself (with and without a tour company). I fell in love with myself and with the world and decided I loved solo travel. I loved female solo travel, if that’s a thing.
Last year, I set out on a longer journey. A year of traveling, around the world, alone. Along the way, I heard so many stories of women who just didn’t feel comfortable being themselves and I understood. I had those moments when I was traveling….
But, what a life to live… A life where you cannot be yourself, express how you feel, achieve what you want. When you do not believe in yourself. It was exhausting hearing the stories, thinking about how cities were formed, the impact on nature, and the evolution of a world and community so fragmented and self-interested, it is scary.
I returned defeated, feeling like I had no control. But slowly I started hearing my voice again. What I want, how I feel, what I believe in. And I started defending these beliefs when I heard others attack them.
Interactions with others are not binary. I do not always defend vehemently and can respect other’s opinions while expressing my own. I can feel angry, sad, and happy. I can act like a child or like an adult. I let my body guide me without thinking. Confident that if that will hurt me, I would rather have that than not be authentic.
It is not an easy journey, but so worth it. And who knows, I may enter another phase soon with a different authentic self and that will be okay too.
Of course, there are responsibilities. And while being authentic, it is necessary to balance that as well. But, I hope that it is true to each of us, not necessarily easy… And that is My Fabulous Self!!
Authentically yours,