Who Made You This Way?

I read something today. It said “Who made you this way? Do they still matter?” It got me thinking.

There are countless facets of our existence, our personalities, our identities, which are formed by those around us. Sometimes this happens over the course of years, sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes, it’s not. That’s what makes all the difference.

When we have some part of ourselves that we don’t like, or can’t face, it’s easy to want to push it aside like it isn’t even there. But when we do look at ourselves, it becomes just as easy to blame things on ourselves, to take on an image of ourselves that is relatively distorted and even more distasteful than whatever our real problems are.

Reading this today, I realized that this really is what we need to ask ourselves. Who made you this way? Because if there’s something you’ve taken on yourself that isn’t on you, it’s time to realize where that came from, and ask yourself if you want it still. Do they still matter? Is it just, is it fair? Or is it okay for you to say goodbye to these people, or at least to the weight they’ve put on your shoulders?

Maybe it’s time to let it go. If it’s not, then maybe it’s time to finally face it and begin to work through it.

And maybe the person who made you this way is you. Maybe the person you most need to face is yourself. In this case the answer to the second question means the world too. Do they still matter? Do they? Do you?

You do, you absolutely matter. So now’s the time to put your answers to use. Fix what you want fixed. Become who you wish to become. There’s no time like the present and the first step is half the battle.

But hey, maybe you’re one of the few who reads this and smiles. Maybe you have a story to share about the person who made you who you are in the best way possible. Maybe that was someone else and maybe that was you. Please know how lucky you are. That is everything.