Redefinition

Pictures.Most of us love taking those. For various reasons. Some of us take pictures just for the fun of it. I take pictures because I want to remember a moment, capture a memory. You show me a picture I took, I can tell you when, where and why I took the picture. I can tell you what I was thinking or feeling. I could even go as far as describing how that particular day went.
There’s another reason why I take pictures and it’s because I can be anyone else but me through the lens. I don’t have to be Ursula, I don’t have to be a Grade A student. I can just be. The camera redefines me. And this redefinition is on my own terms. I don't have to pretend to be anything. I can just be what I want to be in that moment. 

Redefinition. Most of us like to do that, and it’s mostly for the wrong reasons. We do it to fit in. I cannot stress enough the importance of being you. Redefining yourself is a good thing. As you grow older, you have to reset priorities and begin to attune yourself to the changes happening around you. It would make no sense to be stubborn and then keep being what you are when it is of no benefit to you or to society. So redefinition is a necessary and maybe compulsory part of being human.
 However, when you redefine yourself for the purpose of fitting in, redefinition is no longer the right thing to do. If you stop reading classics because everyone else thinks it's lame and not for any reason other than that, then you are so doing it wrong. Do not change who you are for anyone or anything. If someone wants you to change a habit that is not harmful, then they are not in love with you. They are in love with a fictional version of you they have created in their minds.

And so, redefine yourself, on your own terms, for the right reasons. When you look through the lens, picture a different you, a you who doesn’t give two hoots about what others think, as long as you are doing the right thing. A you who’s awesomely unique and amazing in your own weird way. Redefine yourself through your own lens. Never ever let what people do to you or say to you define you. You’re better than that. Love you,with all your idiosyncrasies and crazy little habits. It’s those things that make you different. It’s the little hiccup after your laugh that makes you unique. Or the way you bite your lower lip when you’re nervous that makes you distinctive. Keep being you because you is awesome.

So next time you step in front of a camera, think of this. And do not tamp down what is in you that is just begging to be set free. Keep doing you.