We have the incredible power to choose how to live the life we’ve been given. In fact, each one of us has a unique approach to living our lives and that approach sets our course. 

        Do You

I’ve heard the catchy phrase, “you do you,” from many people. Just recently though, I discovered that it is actually the title of a movie. 

The term is captivating, but it is not a new one. Be who you are, be your original self, and be authentic are not the latest and greatest notions. On the contrary, these ideas have been realized for a long time. Most recently though, it seems like the old idea is now more publicized, popularized, and commercialized than it used to be. Now, it is in a more contemporary package. Yet, it remains the same.

No one strives to be a copycat. Yet, when we live life without considering our thoughts, the company we keep, the type of entertainment we choose, or the activities that consume our time, our lives become something other than original. Instead, they grow into a prototype of what is popular in our present age. The longer we go along with the flow, the more we surrender our original selves. 

None of us are exempt from the good or the bad influences in the world around us. But, the choices we make have a way of conforming us to an image which may or may not be who we truly  are.

For example, my life has been influenced by various publications, fads, people and causes. The women’s movement, the back to the land movement, the religious movement and the home school movement to name a few. Each of these causes broadened my world, but they also constricted and limited my world too. 

If I did not dress like them, think like them or live like them then, I wasn’t really one of them. I just stayed me and that was not always an acceptable way to be. 

Why bother creating your own lifestyle? Thinking for ourselves, and considering who we allow to influence us keeps us from being superficial wanna bees. It is not about being a non compliant individual, rather it’s about being careful to not conform to a particular image just because everyone else seems to be.