There’s a lot to be said for living in your own little bubble.
As a professional entertainer, I experience the world through my own sparkling lens. Everything looks beautiful the way I see it. My closet is filled with fabulous costumes and props. My weekends are filled with smiling faces and momentous occasions. My mind is filled with creative ideas and whimsical things. People wonder why I’m always smiling. Life is pretty good in my own imaginary VIP Room.
But occasionally, a girl must venture out into the realm of the “normals.” That straitlaced, buttoned-up world where women still live and die by purely imaginary standards of what a “respectable” job looks like, what “good girls” do for fun, and how “classy women” dress and behave once they’ve nursed the hangover of their twenties.
It’s a world where tolerance is a trendy hashtag and it’s great to be yourself – as long as you buy all your clothes at Ann Taylor, wear your heels no higher than 2″, and retire to a world of wine and Netflix after putting in the hours at your 9-5. (Lather, rinse, repeat).
It’s a dangerous world if you don’t fit the mold. People can be so cruel.
“Can you believe she still wears Victoria’s Secret PINK? Is she still in high school?”
“I wish I could wear my hair long like yours, but I’m too old.” (“And you’re HOW old? Thirty?”) “Yeah, my hairstylist says all women should wear a more sensible hairstyle in their thirties. And I agree with her!”
“I could totally have a body like yours if I lived in the gym. But I live a balanced life, you know.”
And of course, there’s my favorite:
“You know your hobby is pretty ridiculous. Nobody will ever take you seriously if you keep running around in sparkle-bras and playing with swords.”
Some days, you effortlessly balance being yourself with successfully “adulting.” Some days, you wake up and realize that you’re not like everyone else. And what do you do? You just deal with it, plain and simple. Your soul ultimately manifests itself out into the world the way it’s meant to, and mine is expressed through dancing.
I know many of you creative people reading this post have probably felt the same, and I’m hoping this post catches some of you at just the right time. In the mean time, I’d like to say the following:
….Know that you’re not alone. Surround yourself with like-minded, enlightened people who
appreciate you for YOU. Ruthlessly rid yourself of “frienemies” that tear you down. Find your tribe, and love them hard.
….My dad once told me: “Always act immature, and you’ll never grow old.” I live by those words.
….Know that you’re not weird. Want to know who is weird? The people living and dying by those annoying Buzzfeed “listicles” that tell you what you can and cannot wear past the age of 25. The ones that dig themselves deep into debt and/or drive themselves mad just trying to live up to everybody else’s picture perfect lives that they see on Facebook, without taking into consideration that most people lie by omission on social media. The ones that wait until it’s way too late to pursue their dreams, and spend the rest of their lives haunted by regret. That, to me, is weird.
….Strong people alter power balances. Great ideas shatter paradigms. Yes, it IS possible to offend people simply by existing! But guess what? You’ll also enchant and empower people by existing. The former’s just the price you pay for the latter. ….The world is so much more magical with you in it. Thank you for being you!
(Photos by Ashley Jane Photography)