What if one day we all woke up and decided to be ourselves, fully and honestly? It sounds beautiful, but the more I think about it, the more confusing it feels. Because it’s not easy to be real, to be true at all.

Growth, whether personal or in other aspects of life, usually comes with pain, mistakes and a lot of discomfort. The people who push past that comfort zone do end up discovering more of who they are. But then there’s this strange twist: if everyone did that, whole industries that thrive on our insecurities might collapse.

And that makes me wonder: are we struggling for ourselves, against ourselves, or just for the sake of living life? It feels so contradictory. Why does it have to be this hard?

Struggle shapes who you are

Struggle doesn’t just push you to want change; it actually shapes you into who you’re meant to be. And most of the time, that ends up being your real self, the person you already are underneath it all.

But why is that so frightening? If being yourself is so fulfilling, and if sooner or later everyone reaches a point where they have to live as themselves to move forward or succeed, then why does society spend so much time teaching us the opposite, urging us to follow stereotypes and norms?

We spend so much time trying to fit in that we forget who we really are. This piece is a reminder that growing up isn’t about becoming perfect, it’s about learning how to be yourself

That’s exactly what I thought after walking out of my English paper that day.

The fear of simplicity

“Village life” — that was the essay topic in my English paper. It was such a vague title that it frustrated me. I couldn’t figure out how to tackle something that simple! Deep down, I knew that unless I faced this head-on, I’d never truly be a writer. Success doesn’t come to people who skip the basics. How could I call myself a writer if I couldn’t write about something as simple as village life — in just 300 to 350 words?

The thought mocked me. I........

© Dawn Young Magazine