A Young Person’s Search for Acceptance, by Marley Boston

 

“You have peace when you make it with yourself.”

 

Today’s post is by our creative and introspective daughter Marley, who has already begun to walk the path of self-discovery.  She wrote a piece about her quest to find more acceptance in her life.  Go Marley! 


 

I believe in having someone in your life who accepts you for you.

Having someone who is welcoming, supportive, and respectful of your decisions, and who you strive to be, can really change a person’s life. Acceptance is really important to me because it provides a safe environment for me to develop who I am personally, and the ability to share that safe place with people close to me is heartwarming.

Acceptance heightens self-esteem and goes a long way toward forming stronger bonds. Self-respect and pride are key attributes for me.  They are a big motivational factors that guide the decisions I make which influences me to reach my full potential. Acceptance builds stronger bonds because I’m able to work with people I love and care about to discover who I am and what I want to be accepted for.

I apply this belief in my own personal life to demonstrate to my family that I accept them as individuals, and I believe and trust them to do what makes them happy. If I do that for them, they’ll most likely do that for me. There are times in which I firmly lean on this belief, and that’s when I’m unsure if I’ll be accepted for looking “different,” or if I will be judged for having separate opinions on things. On these occasions, I remember that I am surrounded by people who will accept me for being myself. It makes me feel better when I remember that, and it has impacted my world to this day!

A story of a situation when this belief was formed was some time in 5th grade. I was asked on a piece of paper what I wanted to be when I was older. This question really got me thinking because whatever work I chose when I grew up might change my life positively or negatively. So, I just said something generally accepted like ‘doctor.’ I was really nervous because when I grow up, whatever I chose might change people’s view of me.

I don’t know if questions like these really needed this much thought.  I don’t know if they really matter that much, but they do matter to me. But then I thought of my family, who are the people who care about me the most, and I knew that whatever I grow up to be, they will be supportive and above all else, they’ll always love me.

My belief in acceptance was challenged when I hit 6th grade. I was self-conscious because I was one of the only students of color in the whole school. I knew I shouldn’t let things like this bother me, because at the end of the day it’s not supposed to matter, but I was still a little self-conscious about it. This went on for a couple of weeks.

Slowly but surely, I began to feel less uneasy about looking different, until eventually the thought faded into the back of my mind. But you can imagine how I felt different and out of place, like I stuck out in every group I joined.  I felt that everything I did would be judged by those who didn’t look like me.

It took a while, but now I’m realizing that I am accepted by those around me and that I’m not any different than any other kid.  It’s great to learn that I get to choose to be whoever I want to be in life. But most importantly, I’m learning to accept myself regardless of how others may view me, and this is not only freeing, but it’s the truest meaning of acceptance.

Marley Boston

 

Acceptance, by Marley Boston //




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Comments (8)

Like daddy like daughter. Nice piece Marley.

Thank you gypsy11, I appreciate your comment!

What a beautiful and intuitive perspective. Go Marley!

Thank you Ayanna for your continued support, I’m grateful!

Brilliant Marley!! You are the best you i know! I love you! Aunt Deborah

Thank you for your vote of confidence Aunt Deborah, let’s keep encouraging her to continue to write from her heart.

Very sweet, yay for confident, thoughtful young people! You give my hope for a better future.
(And good job, parents 😉

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and leave such a wonderful comment. We truly appreciate it!

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