Hear me speak - by G.G.A.O.

I've boxed myself in so much into who I think I should actually be. *(I stole that word from somebody just now 😂).* Anyways...... It's funny how I'm just realising it. I have given myself so much to being what I think I should be. What religion, society and culture say I should be. And now I'm realising that that isn't necessarily me. **“I am me.”** That has been my response recently, and I'm just beginning to realise that I'm actually beginning to figure myself out. I talk with confidence. There's no reason to be scared to share your opinion, especially when you know you're right. Regardless of age or status, just do it with respect. If you don't talk, someone else will, and you'd end up at the back, doing good background work but never actually coming to the forefront because of timidity. But maybe that was how I was trained. Maybe that's how religion, society and culture trained me to be without actually being clear on *how* to be. Honour, respect and obedience are all good virtues. I've been taught them, and I still believe they are good. But somehow, they've also made me keep quiet even when everything is going south. Deep inside me, I have a reply. I have a structure. I know what I think. I've just been taught and learnt to shut up. But enough of that, because **that isn't me.** Stand your ground. Choose what you want. Choose what you become. Society and family have a way of indirectly choosing who you are. And if you're not careful, when you look deeply enough, you might realise you've been living for other people all along. You might be happy. You might be accomplished. You might be recognised. But look clearly. Look deeply. **Why do you actually do what you do?** If the first thing on that list isn't you—and when I say first thing, I mean **FIRST thing**—then that isn't really you. You can do something to help someone. You can take a certain job because you want to make someone proud or help your family. But at the end of the day, you should still be somewhere in that decision. Because what is the end point of the satisfaction you're getting from what you're doing? Well, enough of that too, because **it isn't me.** I heard myself speak today and I knew I had been robbed of a lot of things. I am bold. I am confident. I am smart. I am rich. But I've just kept quiet for too long. It's high time I start being me, living me and doing me. **But with God, of course.** God isn't on my number one. He's on another whole list entirely—just Him. And that list comes before everything else, because I know some of you may be asking. 😂 You know the funniest part? Everything else will evolve. People will change. Sometimes, they even expect you to understand and grow. **But how?** How can you become who you are when you've spent so much time becoming who everyone else thought you should be? Maybe that's what I'm figuring out now. Maybe “I am me” isn't just a response anymore. Maybe it's a journey. And today... **I choose Me.** 🤍

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