A little more wisdom from someone I admire tremendously, the man who has survived the belly of the beast, Stolen Boy contributor, Tyler Edmonds:
There are those people in our lives who make us question who we are. They pick apart your life, criticizing this or that, telling you what you should or should not have done here and there. They make you wonder what you would have done differently and which things you would have left alone. Sometimes, their comments make you feel as if you’re a failure and as if everything you’ve done was a waste.
Tyler Edmonds enjoying his new-found freedom.
I myself have had a few of those moments in my life, and I have absolutely questioned who I am. The one thing that brings me back down to earth is remembering that time moves forward, not backwards. You can’t, nor will you ever be able to go back in time and change the things that you wish could have been said or done differently. This is fact; this is reality.
The things of the past are the past, and dwelling on the past gets you nowhere. I’ve now made it a point to never question who I am again, simply because I KNOW who I am.
Who I am is a human being that makes mistakes just like everyone else. Who I am is an imperfect being. I don’t pretend to be perfect, nor do I strive to be. The only thing that I strive to be is less like everyone else, and more like myself. Not a non-conformist, but an individual. We each have specific characteristics that differentiate us from everyone else. These characteristics are what make each of us unique, and I believe that our uniqueness is something that should never be sacrificed in order to please another. While we are each constantly changing and evolving as a person, we are all in some way grounded to the same basic laws of humanity as everyone else. So even though I don’t always have all of the answers or know which way to go, I know that no matter what, I can rely on my own humanity to get me through anything that life throws at me. When all else fails, trial and error is tried and true. You live and learn by making mistakes. You fall off and you get back on. It’s just that simple.
Who I am is an individual that is imperfect. I am an individual that has, and will continue to make mistakes along life’s way. But I refuse to ever give up myself, and I refuse to conform myself based on anyone else’s expectations or definitions of who they think that I am or should be. I will live my life doing what I think is the right thing to do, and I will be forever grounded and confident in my own beliefs. I will never straddle both sides of the fence, and I will always be honest to the Nth degree. I will live my life the way that I see fit, and I will never compromise my integrity for the benefit of another. I am who I am, and who I’m not, I may never be. Take me as I am, or don’t take me at all. Because I am Tyler, and this is who I am.
