It is not a secret that I’ve had a rough childhood; you can even say that I was robbed of my childhood. When I share my story, people automatically make assumptions about me, some good such as, I am strong, resilient, and courageous, while others make assumptions such as PTSD and other traumatic labels. I can tell by the questions I receive at the end of my speeches which label they have bestowed upon me. Do I suffer from PTSD? Absolutely! Have I lost sleep due to my traumatic childhood? Too many nights. Have I sought treatments and therapy to overcome my childhood? Yes, I have spent more hours in therapy than I can count.
Often, we determine who we are based on what happened to us in our childhood instead of who we have become because of it. We hold onto what we’ve been through by carrying trauma, stress, shame and so much more instead of embracing who we wish to be. I will not be identified by my childhood or anything this world has to offer. Society wants to pin me in a tiny little box that has been outlined for me, but I refuse to be forced into it.
I decide what my identity is. I choose the names and labels I want to wear instead of the ones society lavishes upon me. For me, my identity is tied to my faith in Christ. My purpose is to serve him and fulfill his plan, which supersedes everything else this world has to offer.
Where are you tempted to find your identity?
I see individuals struggling with identity more and more every day. Rather than accepting themselves and who they are, they try to conform to what society deems acceptable, which is impossible to achieve! Social media, magazines, and even movies have created their names for us, such as: not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not popular enough, not successful enough…so on and so forth. It is never enough!
BUT YOUR ARE ENOUGH!
You get to choose your label, your name, and decide your identity by accepting your individualistic uniqueness. Embracing your true you will get you farther in life than any label.
Your identity is what you wish to be and not what society claims you should be.
