I am pretty sure lots of
people have related to the song.
Applaud to the writers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for
coming up with the lyrics coz admit it, not many songwriters actually write
songs that really make sense nowadays. Another one that is worthy of applause is
the superb performance from Keala Settle who really sung the song with all her heart;
you can see and feel the conviction.
With a
song like that, it deserved to win the Golden Globe Award, it might even win
the Oscars this March.
The
song came out very timely isn't it?
No.
Sorry, I
am wrong.
It transcends
TIME.
So, I couldn’t
count how many times I have listened to it on Spotify and how many times I have
watched the making of it on Youtube but it always gives me the goose bumps and makes
me smile as I jam to the beat. It is empowering. It raises hope. It boosts the
spirit especially when you are down and you have lost faith in yourself. And as I listen
to it, I find myself in tears because the song in fact rouses emotions which are
not often uttered vocally.
There are
many instances in our lives when we feel like we are a misfit - where we are
the odd one out.
I believe
that in this age we are in, we have a lot to look up to, to compare ourselves
to, and there are just a lot of standards that are being set, just for a person to feel belonged in the world. And with all of those, most of the time we would
question ourselves whether we are worthy or not, which is not supposed to be
the case.
Nonetheless, with our human nature we
couldn’t help but align ourselves with the standards just so we'd feel secure. Sometimes, even the definition of how to exist is already based
on the definition people have created for themselves. Most people would fall
short of that definition and they’d end up being torn, depressed for not
fitting in to the norm. Despite not being able to change the norm to accept us for who we are, we still do everything just to fit in. Which means breaking ourselves and using others.
I wonder why. We were
made wonderfully with capabilities that are only limited to what we deem we can
do and we fail to see that because we tend to see our flaws. And again there goes human nature, it has a fascination with the imperfections. The moment we dwell on
the flaws, we get stuck there trying to fix what isn’t broken. We don’t
realize, we’re just made that way and that the imperfections make us who we are. Nevertheless, we are still so hard on ourselves.
Most of the time, the cause of a lot of our misfit feelings points back to us. We feel inadequate because we
make ourselves feel like it. We have low self esteem because we have so many
doubts in ourselves. And the doubts are based on the standards that were set by
others, which we try to set for ourselves, too. We don’t see the beauty inside
us because we are clouded, and we’d rather focus on the flaws. We are afraid to
go out of our comfort zones because we are so used to the safe side, and the
idea that you are not where you are good at is a recipe for disaster. Most of
the time we get scared people will make fun of us, or would talk behind our
backs because we overanalyze things… we assume. We plant and feed our fears in
our head so we end up trapped inside the box we created for ourselves no matter
how uncomfortable it already is, and that is where we settle in. We let others dictate
what we can’t do, and what’s worst is that we end up believing in it too.
But why
not take a step outside that door? Why not get out of that cramped box and stop
hiding? Stop doubting? Stop trying so hard to feel belonged.
If you think of it, why would we try to fit in when the world was actually made so we can fit in? I am not making any sense I know.
Most people
would spend their lifetime trying to find the place where they really belong
for that is what was instilled to them. Some would even associate it literally
with places and people. They believe that the feeling of belongingness is
something that can be found in others. They
realize too late or even not at all, what belongingness really meant.
Wouldn’t
feeling belonged meant being comfortable in your own skin?
If we try
so hard to reject ourselves, of who and what we are made of, how are we going
to accept others? How are we to grow?
But before we can accept ourselves, in
order to feel that way, we have to break through the walls and the rules and
the boundaries that we had set for ourselves.
A lot
of people will never be as accepting as how we expect them to be. They will
criticize, laugh, crush our spirit and put us down a million times but it is
not our concern anymore if they accept us or not. Just because they can’t
understand how awesome we are with our flaws, means we are gonna let them break
us down. Just because we don't fit in to their norms, we have to change ourselves for them. We have to get over that thought of pleasing
everyone, and fitting in their lives.
We just
have to be who we are.
Live
our lives to its fullest without worrying if we are living by their rules or
not.
Be proud
of ourselves - of who we are.
This is me saying, have faith in yourself.
For if you don’t… then who else will?
I close
this with a quote I have always lived by since 2011.
“There are a lot of people out there who will
tell you, you can’t.
What you’ve got to do is turn around and
say,
Watch me!”
Layne Beachley
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all photo credit goes to their respected owners. I browsed through Google.
xoxo
Nat