Months ago, I wrote about a poem by Shel Silverstein called, “Masks.” I titled the blog post, “Don’t Hide.”
At the time, I declared to myself that I would not hide who I am. But the thing about social pressures, social scripts, and social cues, is that it’s hard to resist for a long time. I still find myself hiding my emotions, squishing down my thoughts, and acting differently from how I feel.
I constantly ask myself over and over if what I’m doing is appropriate, according to our social scripts.
And then I came across this video, a clip from The Fosters. This clip is of the scene where Lena talks to Jude about being different.
The most important quote from this scene is as follows:
“Because the thing is, if you’re taught to hide what makes you different, you end up feeling a lot of shame about who you are. And that’s not okay.”
We shouldn’t have to feel shame about who we are, where we come from, and what makes us who we are. I want to remember that.
xx
e
Simply Beautiful 