Written by SnapDragon X. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019.
Hello, love. I’m SnapDragon.
You don’t have to be around me for very long to realize that above all else, I value authenticity.
I also have a pretty keen radar for fakeness. People may say the “right” things, but the proof is in the pudding, friends.
What I mean is you see the real person through their actions, through those day-to-day encounters.
How do they treat others?
Do they admit when they’ve made a mistake?
Are they living a life they want, or one they think society expects?
Now, don’t get me wrong: I understand that living a truly authentic life can be easier said than done.
We don’t want to hurt others.
We don’t want to let them down.
It’s hard, yo.
But I’ve decided that life is just too damn short not to do what makes you happy. (Caveat: If your happiness comes from hurting, shaming, or dismissing others, that is not okay. Period.)
Other people are always going to judge us.
Some people will never understand us, and that’s just the sad truth of it.
But is it our responsibility to make them get it?
Well, here’s a little about me, and how I live my best life:
I’m an educator.
I’m currently working at the university level to implement a program in high schools that encourages students of diverse backgrounds to enter the field of teaching.
There are moments when I don’t have all the answers. But you know what? I choose to be honest and say, “Let’s find the answer together.”
I’m an artist.
I paint expressionist pieces that are vividly colorful, and most often of the nude female body. They’re raw, cartoony, and often met with looks that say, “Hmm. I don’t get it.” But you don’t have to, love. These are for me.
I’m a homebody.
I love being home. I love playing video games with The Sweet Husband. I love curling up with my two precious cats and reading Stephen King. Yes, on a Saturday night. Some may call it lame, but I call it glorious.
And so, that’s me, Dear Reader. In a nutshell, anyway.
These are the things that make me me, and make me so very happy.
So the point of all this?
Be you.
Be your original, brilliant self, and if others don’t get it, oh well.
Because you deserve happiness, friend.
We all do.
. . .
What ideas, hobbies, and values make you authentically you, Dear Reader?
Love your colorful vision SDX❤! I appreciate a good expressionist view of the world. Music, writing, and miscellaneous is what makes me; I keep it randomly 100%
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝙺𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 🕊
“Be your original, brilliant self, and if others don’t get it, oh well”
Well said!
It can be hard to be yourself in front of others. Often I have to put on a facade, a barrier to protect myself from the outside world.
𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝. 𝙸𝚝 𝙸𝚂 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙. 🕊
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝! 🕊
Thats true !!
Other’s happiness is not our responsibilty !!
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐! 𝙺𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 🕊
In our busy world, a place that tries to homogenize us, it’s really important that we know ourselves and seek to develop our individuality. Of course, as you rightly mention, this does not mean that we can hurt others as we look to “find ourselves” and know ourselves. You’ve written a nice piece here that reminds us about how we should live our lives. Thanks.
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜, 𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚢. 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚞𝚙! 𝙸 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 🕊
Absolutely. That pressure to be “normal” or “like everyone else” is very powerful. I often wonder what does society put so much value on conformity? Even if I wanted to be like everyone else, I wouldn’t know how to do that. I only know how to be Troy Headrick, flawed and weird as he may be.
Most of us live through the lenses of others, and the few lucky ones who are really living; appear “foggy”, “blurry” in the lenses of most others.
What must one do?
live freely, regardless.
Hopefully…..
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜. 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚜, 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝙰𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎. 🕊
Agreed!
I utterly love this pieceb and agree with it all, with the exception of King. That’s what makes us glorious unicorns!
𝙷𝚊𝚑𝚊. 𝚃𝚘 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗! 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜? 🕊
Harrison, Pratchett and Adams. Isn’t lovely to have so many great books to enjoy?
𝙸𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜! 📚
love and wholeheartedly agree! freedom is being your authentic self! I also have found freedom in the fact that I do not like everyone and everyone will not like me- and that is totally ok! turning 40 has opened my eyes to what i affectionately call “the 0 fucks given mantra”. in a nutshell i am not people pleasing any longer or doing what i think i “should” do based on societal demands/ perceptions. thx for sharing!
𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊! 𝙽𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍! 🕊
Love 💕 this post!
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 🕊
Embrace the homebody, don’t shame it. That’s my motto 😁
𝙰𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢! 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 🕊