being self

The thought occurred to me the other day, the thing Willow does best, is simply to be Willow.

I have never seen her trying to be like Nahum, Theo or some human.  That's not to say that Willow has not been influenced by others, but through it all she remains solidly, Willow.

This made me think about how much time have I spent trying to be like someone else? Probably most of my life.

I remember as a kid, looking up to my oldest brother, and trying to be like him.  Once in third grade, I was in front of the class for something (I was not in trouble!) and I remember intentionally trying to display an expression of being cool and at ease like I had seen my oldest brother do countless times. It didn't work, the class roared with laughter and I didn't feel cool.

I wonder what it would be like to be the best me I could possibly be and to let go of trying to be like others.