Being Honest

Why are we so obsessed with pretending we’re better than we are?
Why say we’re 6’0” on a dating profile… when we’re 5’7”?
Why hide the uncertainty, the awkwardness, the newness?

In Pokémon Emerald, after you defeat Flannery, she says:
“I’ve only recently become a Gym Leader… I tried too hard to be someone I’m not.”

She wasn’t upset about failing.
She was upset that she didn’t trust who she already was.

That’s the real message here:
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”

We spend so much time trying to become the version of ourselves we think people will respect,
when the truth is—if someone can’t accept you for who you are,
why do they get to have a say in your story?

We don’t always get to choose how others see us.
But we do get to choose how we show up.