The world today is very hard and judgmental. And you may find it hard to be yourself when everyone is constantly watching your every move, expecting you to be perfect. It’s like one day you embarrass yourself, and the next day everyone is giving you a nickname. In life, people judge you based on how you dress, think and who you hang out with. And I don’t think it’s fair, why should someone call you a ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’ because you study a lot, wear glasses and wear ‘boring’ clothes? Why should someone be called ‘slay queen’ because she’s pretty and super popular? It’s like that’s the person they expect you to be. And sometimes, there are people in your life that try to make you feel small, who make you feel ashamed of who you are, who make the most popular word in your vocabulary ‘loser’. But when you find someone who makes it all a blur and allows you to be ‘youtiful’ (yourself in every way), that person is a friend. No one or nothing should make you feel small or ashamed of who you are. There might be something in your life that makes you feel calm, maybe music or something else you love, go for it, just sit down and listen to some music and all the bad thoughts will slip away. Always remember that the best person to be is you. Because if they don’t see anything worth loving in you, that’s their loss. In other words, be ‘youtiful’. Karabo is an 11-year-old Grade 9 student at Nu-Vision High School.
