SELF-REFLECTION WRITING CHALLENGE

How Dolly Parton Inspires Me Every Day — Day 17

Finding yourself and what that does for you

Dr. Tracy Davis, it’s 17 days into the challenge now and I’m feeling a lot of growth from these writing challenges. I feel like I’m learning more about myself every day. I hope that more people start to do this as Pluto Wolnosci already has started doing now. Today, when you asked what quote inspires me the most, I went back and thought about the legendary Dolly Parton.

I remember first hearing about the quote not from Dolly Parton herself, although the quote is definitely very Dolly-sounding, but from the emotional movie, A Walk To Remember, from the early 2000s with Shane West and Mandy Moore. It was one of Mandy Moore’s character’s favorite all-time quotes from Dolly Parton. Find out who you are and do it on purpose. Simple, yet poignant advice.

I spent a lot of my life hiding my true self from the world. I didn’t want anyone to know who I was and in doing that I damaged my ability to be able to properly figure out who I was in the process. Once I came out, I started to take stock of myself and find out who I was throughout the years. I met my partner and he also helped me to challenge myself and figure out who I was as well as he started figuring me out better than I had at that point.

Then I did something transformative. I started owning up to who I was. I figured out who I was and I wasn’t going to apologize for that. I started finding out what I liked and what I didn’t like. I figured out how I perform under pressure. I even did something unheard of before when I truly hated myself. I actually started to love myself more. My partner loved me. Why was it so impossible for me to see in me what he saw?

Once I purposely started to find myself and my way, my decisions became a lot easier to make since I understood what I wanted and needed. This ultimately led me to the realization that I could totally live in a traveling vehicle designed to house me and my partner. If I thought that I couldn’t handle it, then I would not have agreed to the direction our life has gone in now.

I’m not much of a preacher but I suggest that anyone who hasn’t completely found out who they are and expressed themselves go ahead and go on a self-discovery. Your life after truly finding out who you are is amazing. It’s not perfect but it sure as hell beats lying to yourself, others, and those that you love and care about. Once you express yourself in a sincere and honest way, there’s no going back.

I once stupidly thought that if people really knew who I was, they wouldn’t like me. Worse than that, I thought that I wouldn’t like myself very much. Sometimes I don’t, but most of the time I love myself these days. I’ve found that being and expressing yourself is just fine for the people that you want to keep in your life.

They won’t hate you for being you. Only the people that aren’t supposed to be around you will hate you for being yourself. And who needs those people anyway? Love yourself, find yourself, be yourself. And do it all on purpose. Thanks, Dolly Parton!!