You can never stop being yourself, but people sure will always try to remold your personality in their image nonetheless. The rational minded person will tell you that you are not rational enough, that you are lacking in logic and valid argument, that you must increase your vocabulary and read more philosophy. But what that rational minded person is really telling you is not that you have failed to be rational, but that you have failed to be like them. A person prone to belief will tell you that you lack faith, that you must pray for forgiveness, that you must cry out to the lord in various ways. But the believer is telling you the exact same thing, that you are not enough like them. Try as you might to please the believers and the so called logical people of the world and you will always fail. They will never be satisfied with your answers. No matter how much you pray or philosophize, they will always seek to bully and humiliate you until you bow down and worship them, until you fall down and repent for the sin of thinking for yourself. This is why I am the way I am. This is why I shut myself off to the influence of others. I am not a hermit, nor am I opposed to different ideas. I just recognize the simple fact that what people are really after is to impose their will upon me, to shape me like a piece of clay, to distort my worldview. I refuse to let this happen. I reject the notion that going with the flow is the answer. I take pride in the fact that I can stand on my own, that my thoughts were not given to me by people who died hundreds, even thousands of years ago. Even if I tried to please others, it would not be possible. We live in a world that emphasizes the importance of competition and so people are always scheming, always trying to find a way to punish you for doing the right thing. In this case, “the right thing” happens to be hearing others out. Well, they will punish you for that too. They will lecture you on having improper listening skills or for interrupting them or for having the wrong facial expression during their monologue. People are always labeling each other, always trying to fit others into their own little script. I have no need to be a part of another person’s drama for I have my own drama, and it is far more interesting than anything I’ve ever known. I will not edit myself. I will not tone it down. I will not be polite. I will not do these things because it will never be enough. I will always have to keep changing for the next person and the next person and the next person. I say enough. No more changing to please others. No more seeking the praise of foolish players in their poorly staged dramas. I am. I exist. I breathe. I live…for myself and for those who would have me be myself. My creations are mine. I came up with them. I am not going to change them for others. If other people want to create, then they must get up and do that on their own. I encourage them to do so because I quite their drama long ago. Nowadays, I recognize the beauty within myself. It is a bold task to undertake, to truly be self aware, to truly practice self-love. Few will understand it, but then again the point is not that you understand me. The point is that you recognize that you will never fully understand me and that I will never fully understand you. We are too unique to be alike and we are far too different to be similar. So, if you do not like the way I speak, find another podcast to listen to. If you do not like the way I write, read something else. If you do not like me, find someone who you actually do like. But do not try to make people like you; that is the coward’s way out. Dare to be different, a little bravery never hurt anyone. Now, if you will excuse me, I am off to be myself again, which, of course, means being unlike anyone else. So, the next time you think you will totally own me with your rationality or religiosity just remember that you are wasting your time. I cannot be owned for I am my keeper