College is seen as a great defining moment, a time when you should be learning and figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life.
The thing is, the person we become at the end of those four years isn’t permanent, and sometimes we are so tangled up in what we think we should be doing that we forget what makes us unique.
In college, and as you move onward, it’s important to know that it’s okay for your ideas to shift to discover new interests, and most importantly, be open to new experiences.
Here are four books designed to help you embrace your unique self, whether in the form of a creative pursuit or a fun hobby.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Finding your voice is challenging, and Glennon Doyle demonstrates that bravely with her new book Untamed.
Doyle recalls the moment she first heard her own voice, it was the moment the woman that would become her wife walked into the room, and since then Doyle has decided to quit pleasing and start living.
Untamed is not only a memoir but a wake-up call. It recalls the moment when Doyle decided to shed expectations, deconstruct and rebuild her life. It reflects on how it changed her and how she became a new woman through the process.
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
You might not think that the woman who has given us the likes of Meredith Grey and Olivia Pope would be afraid to put herself out there, but Rhimes used to make excuses for anything that made her uncomfortable.
After sitting next to the Obamas one night, Shonda Rhimes realized that something her sister told her was right: she never said yes to things that scared her.
So began, Shonda Rhimes’s Year of Yes. In the book, Rhimes details her self-acceptance journey and finding a work/life balance that suits her.
Physically, Year of Yes is a small book with some big lessons that readers can embrace as they pursue the next step in their lives.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Think what you want about Eat, Pray, Love, but Elizabeth Gilbert’s treatise on creativity, Big Magic is an entirely different being.
Creativity takes courage and some magic, but sometimes creativity isn’t as magical as you’d think. In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert attempts to distill creativity and the creative process.
She dispels myths about what a creative person should be and instead gives a whimsical, yet blunt, examination of what it means to create and make magic with your art.
The chapters are short and reflective, and although Gilbert is a writer, her observations can apply to anyone looking for a creative outlet, or hoping to expand their creativity.
Embrace Your Weird by Felicia Day
Those who have been around the sci-fi sphere may know Felicia Day. She’s the creator and writer of The Guild and has appeared on shows including Eureka and Supernatural.
She released a book called You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) in 2015, and followed that with her 2019 release, Embrace Your Weird.
Through 272 pages, there are questions about what’s blocking ideas and what inspires them. This hybrid book is the perfect way to dive in and get engaged with what is inspiring your present.
Embrace Your Weird differs from other books on this list because it offers more than just words of wisdom and anecdotes. Felicia Day constructs this book as both a source of inspiration and a workbook, giving readers the chance to let their neurons fire and create while inspired.