As a girl, I grew up being told that I have to act a certain way for people to like me, and that being liked is what I have to aim all the time. I don’t blame my family for that, but the society in general. This is because I see that girls are all taught the same thing: be polite, gentle and pleasant all the time in order to be liked. Although the way women are seen as members of society has changed a lot with time, we can still see traces that female are associated with delicacy, acceptance, and tenderness. Yes, we are all that, but not only that. We also have a side that can express dissatisfaction, authority, and potency. And that side should not be camouflaged in order to maintain appearances.
Something I think that is important to pass to the next generation of women and for this generation to have in mind is that not everyone has to like you. You don’t have to hide your opinions and thoughts just to please someone. You don’t have to desire the approval of every single person on every single thing you do. You don’t have to be afraid to say what you want and what you think.
If you have to change who you are just to satisfy someone, stop and ask yourself: is it really worth it? Hiding your beliefs, thoughts, opinions just to pass the image that people are expecting is not OK. What is OK is being able to be yourself and accept that not everyone will like you, and you don’t need them to like you. It is important to understand that you do not need the approval of everyone to be happy, successful, and independent.
I know that for many of us it is hard to understand that because we were raised differently. And it is cruel to think that we have already internalized that if we react to something the way we what to, we will “lose likes” or be disapproved. That is why this has to change, no individual should think that being his or herself can hurt the image passed to the world in such a meaningful way. It is the opposite, being true to yourself will better you as an individual and make you unique. This way, it is important to practice being okay with dislikes in order to build self-confidence and be true to yourself.