This poem is for

You Don’t Have to Be

You are beautiful, talented, and smart just the way you are.

Your life is going to be a combination of experiences, things you learn, and stuff you collect.

Whenever you see dancing figures on Youtube or whatever grabs your attention on TikTok:

Remember that you are looking for inspiration from another person who has achieved some level of competence in whatever they are doing.

That’s it.

You’re not supposed to look the same. Or that would be weird.

You don’t have to slim, tall, or sexy. “True beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

You are not supposed to speak three languages. Only if you want to.

What we see in real-life, is edited for content because, people sometimes do not stop to smell the roses,

or appreciate the walk to the rose bush,

or linger on the memory of the sweet smell after strolling away into the late afternoon light.

So remember to see the beauty in your own life, capture the inspiration needed, but remove that self that says, “I need to be like them.”