We all make mistakes; nobody is exempt from this. There are times when we need to apologize and ask for forgiveness in our lives, I’d be surprised to find someone who hasn’t. Apologizing for being yourself is not one of the times that deem an “I’m sorry.” College is a time where you learn more about yourself, who you are, and what you want out of your life. This time should be focused on your personal decisions, focusing on your education, career, and overall learning both in school and about the world in general. However, college is also a time of heightened competition and comparing ourselves to others around us. We go from being in one building for the past 4 years, often with the same people we’ve known since we were 5 years old, to an enormous campus here at the University of Utah with over 31,000 students. There is more room for competition, comparison, and finding ways to get ahead.
There is only one you in this world. There are those individuals who may work to bring you down, feeling negative about yourself, and calling your choices into question. During these situations, it is important to not apologize for being you who are. We may make mistakes and wrong decisions, but apologizing for who we are as an individual should not be an option. Those who find issues with you being you are in the wrong. Those who take offense to someone for being who they are do not have the correct attitude about life. There is a reason we are all unique, because that is how we learn. We learn through interacting with others different from us, with other personality types, backgrounds, experiences, etc.
Our lives are far too short to be apologizing for who we are. There are those who will always find a problem with one thing or another. It is better not to waste time and effort worrying about those who find a problem with you being who you are. The statement, “haters gonna hate” is not so far off in this case, because there is often nothing you can do when someone is critical about you and the way you live your life. But, good news! They don’t necessarily have anything to do with you or your life! You get to choose how you live, and whom you let into your life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with distancing yourself from those you bring negativity into your world. When someone makes you feel guilty or ashamed for being yourself, a problem has arisen. You don’t need someone around who questions who you are, because that’s not their right. That is nobody’s right except for your own. If there are things about yourself that you don’t like, you have the ability to change those actions or behaviors. But when someone doesn’t like who you are, they shouldn’t get to have that place in your life. You be you.