Authenticity: how to embrace it

The other day, I came upon another teenage girl's blog and it made me laugh out loud. It was witty, relatable, clever, and cute. Honestly, I fan-girled hard. Her whole post was basically centered around
why she loved writing and how sometimes the things she did early in life weren't always cool or liked by everyone, but she didn't let it tear her down. Like seriously, I couldn't stop having a side conversation in my head repeating, "oh my gosh, YES. I feel that too" after almost every point she made.

Do you ever hear a certain quote or idea multiple times, or have something that happens over and over in a few days time? I don't know if that makes any sense but it happens to me almost every week. I tend to call it "the themes of my weeks." It doesn't happen every single week, but more often than not, a certain phrase, quote or idea will just keep reappearing, and usually with a purpose.

A few weeks ago, I kept confronting the theme that, "it does matter how deeply you suffer because the deeper you feel pain and hardship, the deeper you will feel joy, gratitude, and resilience." And I kid you not, that same idea popped up almost every single day in some way shape or form through a video I watched, an article I read, or a book I picked up. The coolest part though was that after I kept hearing it over and over, I started to think that it meant something... like it was preparing me for some moment, or some experience. And sure enough, that week, I was in the middle of a deep and hard conversation with a friend, and I repeated that idea of suffering to her: the fact that no matter what, resilience, hope, and joy are REAL. We both proceeded to cry and hug and I kept thinking, "how freakin cool was that." Anyways, I didn't really know I would be sharing that story because that's not the point of this post at all!

Actually, I have a different theme for this week. This week, I keep encountering the word authentic. 
And I've been thinking, what does it really mean to be authentic?

Authentic: adjective // representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified: not false or copied; genuine; real //

I love that word. I love it because its connotation is one that is positive and almost inspiring. When I hear someone being described as "authentic," I immediately want to befriend them.

I know that I truly appreciate authentic people: those types of people who love without limits, just because they can. The people who engage in a deep and meaningful conversation with you regularly just to see how you're doing. Those people that no matter what, will never try to impress people just to "be cool." They're the types of people that are gems in our society: the ones who aren't afraid to be themselves, to be different. They stick out from the rest because they don't let petty people and drama get in the way. They accept themselves for who they are and draw out the goodness in others.

This past week though, I've come face to face with criticism and embarrassment. I'm sure this happens to many of us, but there are weeks where things just don't go all that well and life seems slow and heavy. A big struggle for me is that I tend to go against the current of society. But sometimes, the waves come crashing down and knock the wind out of me and I find it hard to get back up. I allow myself to wallow in cynical thoughts and have a hard time coming out of it.

But then, it's funny because almost every time, I get sort of swept up by a compliment or a hug or someone who decided to be kind. I find that every time I begin to have negative thoughts aboutmyself and others, I am then more aware to find the small, simple goodnesses in the people around me. It's as if because I'm having a bad week/day that I'm able to be more receptible to good.

**sidenote: I started this post a few weeks ago and never got the chance to finish it. Since then, I've come face to face with kindness, compassion, resilience, confidence, and just love. I was given an incredible opportunity to lead a retreat at school and I was bombarded and showered with affection and love. My heart was humbled beyond humbled and I found myself crying heavy tears of gratitude and appreciation for the ability to connect and love people every day, despite the trials life throws my way.
One thing I find absolutely incredible is that no matter what you're going through, YOU have the ability to be authentic to those around you. You have the ability to reach out and love others through simply being kind, listening, and turning suffering into resilience. It is a difficult task that takes a lot of energy and selflessness, but it pays off a hundredfold. I'm speaking from experience. Everyones needs differ but we are all human and we all need that breath of fresh air through authentic conversations and friendships.

If we could just allow ourselves to celebrate the uniqueness of both ourselves as well as those around us, perhaps we would be reminded of how precious and beautiful each human life is – including our own.
As the writer Haruki Murakami put it, “A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else.”