In a world of always comparing ourselves to others and needing constant reassurance, we often take note of what others describe us as. "Am I pretty?" "I'm funny, right?" "Do I look good in this?" We're so caught up in wanting to be everything that we rarely ask what we are NOT.
Recently on my Instagram (@jenasynbaker18), I posted a story asking my followers to describe the OPPOSITE of myself. Being a vertically challenged girl of only 4'10'', I was expecting some responses about my height, but not 50% of them to be! While it is true that being short is kind of my brand, I was a little disappointed that my height was the number one factor about me that stuck out to literally HALF of the respondents.
After losing hope that everyone was only going to comment about my height, things started looking up. I received responses that the opposite of me would be: irritating, not funny/have the worst sense of humor, quiet-minded/close-minded, rude, very boring, unappreciative, uncaring, and dull. To whoever is reading this, these words may not resonate much with you. But to me, these types of responses meant the world. As a freshman in college who struggles with anxiety, I am CONSTANTLY worrying about how others perceive me, and sometimes my perception of myself isn't good. I can't tell you how many times I've had terrible panic attacks where I influenced myself that I WAS all of the above. That I was irritating, rude, boring, and dull. To see close friends and peers of mine tell me that I, in fact, wasn't anything like the perception of myself felt like a weight lifted off of my heart.
Of course, there were more light-hearted responses that made me smile. Some said that the opposite of me would: adore sloths (they're a phobia of mine, but that's for another article), be sporty, hate reading, dislike twitter, and never dance.
With this article, I hope that it opens eyes to see that we are not what our worst selves convince us we are. Rather than worry about what you ARE, sometimes ask what you aren't.
