Article by Sanniyah Antoinette Bey
I’ve always been that girl who worried about what other people thought of me. I always wondered what people would say if I died my hair a certain color or if I dressed a certain way. Growing up I was always labeled as that “weird” kid. Mixing together different colors in fashion made me so happy, but yet people tried to take that happiness away from me. They threw harsh words my way, I was picked on in between classes, and I even received hurtful notes in my locker. You would have thought that those types of things only happened on TV, but sadly it doesn't work that way. For the longest time I tried to find a solution, I wanted to make people stop judging others, but I gave up on trying to figure out the impossible. So I decided to follow the crowd, wearing what everyone else was wearing, doing what everyone else was doing, and I was unhappy. After realizing that the way I dressed wasn’t expressing who I was, I made the decision to stop listening to others and show my true colors. I started moving towards the more risky colors, the "different" accessories, the fashion that I truly wanted to wear. I came to the conclusion that my happiness was more important, and at the end of the day "fitting in" isn't worth it.
I decided to start dying my hair, red, blue, every color that you can imagine. Some people loved it and some people hated it, but the main priority was myself. I was starting to become me and it was improving my happiness. You can do the same! Being yourself is the most important step towards your happiness. You shouldn’t have to change the way you act, the way you dress, the hair color you have, or anything to fit someones standards. If you want to wear those leather pants, you would wear those leather pants. If you want to wear that bright neon shirt then you should wear it! Don’t let people tell you what you can and cannot do. Everyone has different styles and that's okay! Never change who you are and never second guess you choices. If you have people in your life constantly giving out negative energy telling you how to live your life, my advice to you is to find people who want nothing but the best for you and cut those toxic people out. You’re a shining unique star with your own personality and you should be able to express it any way you want to!
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