“Life isn’t about finding yourself, its about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw
My whole life I was always trying to ‘find myself’ to figure out who I was. I would stress myself out endlessly over not knowing. How does one find themselves? How do we know who we are? One day someone told me that it wasn’t about knowing who I was as much as it was about knowing who I wasn’t, that was nice – but it didn’t satisfy me.
Getting sober was a journey of self-discovery for me. As I work the Twelve Steps I get to know who I was and who I want to be. I get to see who I am without God in my life and I get to make better decisions based on those truths. I get the opportunity to clean up the wreckage of my past and move forward. Which I am doing. But I kind of stopped there. I got caught up in the daily grind and I stopped changing things. I would go to the same places, do the same things, wear the same types of clothes and eat the same foods. I only ever wore my hair in one hairstyle, my life was very routine. There is nothing wrong with that – at all. But I wasn’t getting to know myself any better. I was just going through the motions.
Then, God put a new friend in my life. She was vibrant and outspoken, her style in clothes changed with her mood. She wore what she felt like wearing, for her. She was authentic. It made me want to be around her. It inspired me to want to be authentic. So, I have been on a journey to become authentically Jorjia. At times, I have been uncertain about a clothing style or how the makeup looks, but my new friend has been right there, cheering me on.
I have been having so much fun! I like trying new things! Different makeup, different food, different clothes. I was always worried about what people would think of me if I wore this or that – but I am learning, that as long as I am wearing my confidence and my genuine smile – I tend to get good responses. But I am not doing it for them anyways! I am creating myself. I am figuring out who I want to be. I am loving this journey. People are drawn to authenticity. We are drawn to joy and confidence. We want to be around people who are at peace with themselves.
I have started to do things that I enjoy again – like dancing. I hadn’t danced in years. I was embarrassed. But who cares!? Have fun! Be yourself!
I have finally realized that life isn’t about finding myself, its about creating myself. I am so grateful that God gives us the people that we need at the exact time we need them.
Are you being authentic?
What have your friends taught you?
What have you always wanted to try but never have?
Authentically Yours,
XO, Jorjia