QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Reflection, originally uploaded by Jade M. Sheldon.

"Understand me, take me, fully
Underground where I can not be found.
And a letter that you wrote that had been stashed inside my wall
Telling me all about your life

It had been there for a quite a while 

It skipped out certain chapters
That I thought had really mattered and now I feel like I missed out."
-Kate Nash, PICK POCKET

Since the review was posted yesterday for Kate Nash's My Best Friend is You, the songs have been running through our heads. She has so many fab lyrics, that it was hard to pick just one for our Quote of the Week. In light of the bullying blog from earlier this week, the above quote just seemed to fit. With how cruel and judgmental our peers are sometimes, it is often hard to take off the masks of who we are supposed to be and allow our awesomely unique inner selves to shine through. Most of us hide fractions of our personality that help mold who we are in an effort to get through the school day and be accepted. It is one of the saddest things about our culture, I think.

A lot of us feel trapped in the confines of the girls we are supposed to be--the world in general and the world inside the halls of school tell us how to dress, act and what to say we are interested in. The pressure to go against that and reveal our personalities can feel unbearable at times. We dream of having someone in our lives who will accept the real us (to take us fully), with whom we can find a safe place to share who we are (underground where we cannot be found). Whether we put this trust in a friend, someone we are dating or a relative, we just want a pass of acceptance in a barrier free environment.

Of course, this should go both ways. A mutual bond of any kind is a sacred part of life, and with that comes learning not only to voice your real truth, but also to listen to others. A lot of us having problems with finding this balance. Some of us have learned to find the trust in these connections and forget to listen as much as we should. Others have become master listeners, always there to lend an ear, but forget to pipe up and lean on someone when they need it. I am still finding this balance.

One of my best friends in the entire world went through some major stuff last year and really opened up to me. We have been through a lot together over the years, and she is like a sister. It felt really great that I could be there for her amongst the swirls of chaos in her life at that time. This year, when it came my time to open up, I shut everyone out. I was then forced to face the sad truths about myself--my pride and fear of trust are two things that I need to overcome. My best friend wanted to be there for me, but I skipped sharing the chapters of my life where I really needed someone because of my own fear. Have you ever been scared to make this leap of sharing?

I have learned that when you make those bonds where you can trust someone and be trusted in return, even though it is scary, making the jump is an important part of growing up. Your heart will get bruised along the way, but that makes you appreciate the real deals when they come along. As hard as it has been for me to learn, starting now, those that I let into my inner circle get to see the full book that is me--bruises and all.