This is Me

I think that one of the most important lessons that you can learn is who you are, despite the fact that we are ever evolving. It struck me tonight more than usual as I was driving back from a surprise fun errand and This Is Me came on. I love the power behind this song. It speaks to me on so many levels, and tonight the song was just the reminder and reinforcement that I needed for what I had just done. I did a silly little thing leaving a surprise gift for a dear person in my life, nothing major, but something that is defining characteristic of who I am.

Me. Just me. How do I define me? I used to claim mom, wife, physical therapist, runner, but never "me." Ask me who I am now and I'm me. Not "just" me, but ME. The rest are just labels that others use to describe parts of me, but they are not the entire part of me. It's crucial to separate yourself from the labels and define yourself as an individual. This has been of the most important, but difficult lessons that I have had to learn over the past 2 years. With the decision to divorce I lost a label and my identity. I lost what felt like a large part of me because I identified my individual being with that label. I know now that I am not a label, I am me, uniquely, spectacular me.

I am an adventurer, runner, hiker, mother, friend, physical therapist, gymnastics coach, and so many other labels and adjectives. I am from nowhere and everywhere. I am the one who likes to surprise people with things because it's one of my ways of showing them that I care and that they are on my mind. I am the one who will pester you until you share what's going on because I know how challenging it is to go through difficult situations and feel like you have no one. I am the one who will send you a check-in text and really is interested in your daily routine, not just the highlights reel. I'll give you advice or I can be quiet and listen, in fact I'll ask you what you want when I find myself in that situation, just ask my friends.

I am me, and this is me. I'm not liked by everyone and it's finally taken me a long time to accept that I am not going to get everyone to like me. If you don't like me, well, you're the one missing out. Harsh? Maybe, but it's my truth and my life. I will not be defined by my own labels or your labels. Ever listened to homecoming queen? by Kelsea Ballerini and she sings:

What if I told you the world wouldn't end
Even the homecoming queen cries
Yeah, what if I told you the sky wouldn't fall
If you lost your composure, said to hell with it all?
If you started showing what's under your skin?
What if you let 'em all in on the lie?

I wasn't homecoming queen, but for all the world to see for a while I had that "perfect" life. It was an illusion and me hiding behind those labels and hiding from myself. I've changed and grown and embraced the woman that I am.

This is me. I am me. This is my life, my choice, embrace me and walk with me.