E.E. Cummings once wrote: 'To be nobody-but-yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting,'"


We're all fighting this battle- teenagers, kids, adults,and even the elderly. We're all struggling to be ourselves. It's pretty admirable--to try to be yourself-- because at the same time we're all trying to find ourselves. Some people stand up for themselves, while others follow. Few show their true personalities; others hide behind a mask. The ones hiding behind a mask are scared of what people will think of their genuine character. They're scared to be judged, and they want to be accepted. These people unwillingly settle for the label "follower".


Other people are born to be followers.The idea that some people are born to be leaders is true. Will Freyley, author of Leadership is Innate, claims that social skills are genetic. The scientific explanation for the courage to be ourselves has to do with our serotonin level. Serotonin helps you to be calm in problem solving situations, have conflict management, and have social ease People with higher levels of serotonin are more likely to lead. The desire to lead comes from a place in your brain called the amygdala. When you are young, your enviroment, and skills that you get from when you were younger make your amygdala motivate you to learn to lead. If you didn't practice encouraging yourself, then you're probably not going to have that much confidence or leadership skills. Rest assured, this doesn't mean you can never be yourself, or lead. You can easily fool your brain to raise your serotononin level. You can still be a leader, and not a follower.



You can lead out in different ways. To be a leader, you don't have to be loud, but you can quietly set an example, pave a new path. The media forces its beliefs upon us, friends pressure us, families make us feel like we're not enough. They're wrong. We have a great purpose awaiting us, and it won't find us, unless we are our true selves.



You are a Christian, a great friend, an athlete, intelligent, a singer, a dancer, a great speaker, helpful, artistic..the list goes on, and on, and on. Whoever you are, be yourself because losing yourself is probably the worst thing that can ever happen to you.