Self Worth and Self Respect

(Because I wish this story to apply to both males and females, this will be a story about "Person.")

There once was a Person who felt unlike any other... until God taught Person a very important life lesson. Person was tired of responsibility, of having to be socially fit, and of living life as others seemed to define. So because it seemed perfect to solve the problem, Person decided to go on a trip to Utopialand.

In Utopialand, people are not judge mental, persons could be persons, not Others, and there are no "definitions." It is the land people like Person can go to to take a brake from "Life." So person determined to go there for a few days.

However, "Life" seemed to be against this trip. Before the trip even started, things began going badly. Person got sick and ended up in the emergency room. But, because Person was a hard headed person--wait, no, Person calls it "Determined"--after receiving medicine and taking a couple days of rest, Person embarked on the trip to Utopialand anyway. Halfway to Utopialand, however, Person's car broke.

The car broke A Few Miles Away from the nearest town. And, in A Few Miles Away, it was dark and it was somewhat chilly, especially at 2 am, when Person's car broke. Now, because Person was alone and too far from "Life," Person had to walk to the nearest town and hire a tow truck to take the car to the nearest hotel. It only cost Person 150 dollars... plus another 55 for the hotel room. After 20 minutes of sleep, Person awoke to face a grueling 17 hours of walking in this strange town to find tools, an alternator and a battery to fix the car, and mechanic work.

Person's only true help was Person's Family, which, though far, far away in "Back Home," still sent Person money for expenses and helped by being as supportive as possible.

Finally, at about 8 pm, Person fixed the car! But Person now was too tired to continue on to Utopialand. Besides, practically two days that would have been spent there were spent on fixing the car and loosing sleep and money because of it. So, Person had no choice but to return to Life.

Life was a place that had never seemed so attractive before. After so much crap that Person had been through, Life didn't seem so bad after all--in fact, it felt like a relief! But Person couldn't help wondering why God would allow so many trials; why life was so difficult and packed with challenges all of a sudden. And, to make matters worse, on top of all that Person had lost two friends and come close to losing two others that same week. So with Family being Back Home and a sudden reduction in friends, person was not only confused and tired, but very alone. Alone made it all feel so much worse.

After wondering and wondering, Person understood one thing: Person was missing Self Worth and Self Respect in life. Self Worth and Self Respect are not a place, not another's definition, not a social norm to fit in, not another's form of judgement nor the lack of. They are not what "Uniques" lack and Socialites abound in. And most importantly, the lack of Self Worth and Self Respect is not the meaning of "Unlike any other"--or at least it shouldn't be.

All those challenges were to help Person understand that the place Person really needed to travel to was the place of Self Worth and Self Respect, not Utopialand. Perhaps Person will forever feel "Unique," "Different," "Unlike any others," but Person still considers this trip one of the best trips ever. It was full of sickness, fatigue, feelings of inadequecy, mechanical difficulties, and loneliness. But it was well worth it because Person learned that being different is no excuse for having a lack of Self Worth and Self Respect. Person is now on the journey of Self Worth and Self Respect.

"Unwritten"

"Unwritten," by Natasha Bedingfield perfectly describes my outlook on life. Particularly in two parts: where she explains that "No else can feel it for you, only you can let it in." To me, I see "it" being joy... life. Personal joy is not borrowed, it is not observed, it is not faked, and it is not dependent on the approval or disaproval of others; it is personal, individual, and within... and "only you can let it in." This leads me to the second one, where she says, "No one else can speak the words on your lips." I and only I know my truth, no one else. I don't need the approval of others to "Let [joy] in." I encourage you all to do the same! Let it in!

"Unwritten"

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah


P.S. I would highly recommend "youtubing" the song, it might help you feel the message better and you might even like the beat. :)