Sometimes, it’s something simple that reminds me I need to just. be. me.
This week, it was boots. Yes, boots.
I’ve been searching for “casual” gray boots for what feels like a year. Maybe it has been. Anyway – I finally ordered a pair, thought they were it! And, no. Uncomfortable. They didn’t look right on me. And the color was off. Sigh. The joys of online shopping…
And then I realized that…I’m not a casual boots person.
I’m a jeans and hiking boots kind of person.
I am not fancy. I don’t wear a lot of makeup (ha… I actually wear hardly any…). My morning “routine” from getting in the shower to leaving for the bus literally takes a half hour. (Granted, I lay out my clothes the night before, but still.) I forget to comb my hair when I get to work nearly every single day. And much to my mother’s chagrin, I never, ever wear lipstick. Ever. Maybe – MAYBE – tinted lip balm.
Where am I going with this? well, I finally realized that as much as they may be cute on others… casual gray boots are NOT me. Hiking boots, that’s where my comfort zone is.
So I got a new pair of hiking boots. I wore them today for the first time – thank you, Wisconsin, for having freezing rain last night! And oh, they made me so happy. They looked right on my feet. With my jeans (have I mentioned how much I LOVE working in academia??).
And I realized that … hiking boots helped me remember to just. be. me.
I may not be normal. I may not be like everyone else. But you know what? I’ve done just fine being me to this point. What I bring to the world as me will be a lot more valuable than if I try to put on a facade.
Sometimes it’s something simple. Today it was a pair of boots.