Kim Basinger

Crate & Barrel. Michigan Ave. 7:30 PM.

I was talking with my dear Ryan a couple days ago, and he said a very, very wise thing: "People build their own realities and how they choose to look at things, so nothing is to be taken personally."

Even though this may seem like a rhetorical statement, I really needed to hear that. It has helped me put many things into perspective. I like to regard myself as an emotionally independent woman, but sometimes, deep down, I feel that most people I encounter have never entirely accepted who I am for a multitude of reasons. I've always known that I should just flip the bird at the myopic people and the naysayers and just keep on truckin' down the road of this strange thing we call life, but that doesn't keep me from feeling the constant need to mold myself into other people's sets of realities in order to connect with them.

I had ceased to fully realize that every single person has their own experiences, beliefs, and values that strongly influence the way they perceive life. I knew that, but I had never held it accountable for the way people perceive me. I always assumed they never accepted me because I was too shy, too opinionated, too liberal, too conservative, too boring, too open-minded, too beautiful, too ugly, too practical, too spiritual, too smart, too stupid, or too different from them. Ultimately, it just boils down to their inability to accept me for who I am.

I'm alright, because I know who I am and I know I will always love, respect, and accept people. I can just hope that they'll reciprocate. If not, I'll just keep on truckin'.