I Am Me

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! – Dr. Seuss”

I am me. What can I say about that? No one else will ever be me. Many can try, but who would want to? I’m not perfect. I’m not a model. I’m not a genius. I’m just… Athena. But you know what? I’m glad I’m me. I’m the only one who is great at being me, so who better than me to be me? Wait. What?

I have my synopsis on my About Me here on WordPress and I think it sums up my character in a very brief paragraph. I had a longer one on Facebook that is as descriptive as it could be in order for people to have an idea of what they were getting into upon meeting me, but it’s so garrulous that I bet only a select few have read it in full.

I’m supposed to toot my own horn, tell people what it is I actually like about myself, but easier said than done. What could I possibly like about me? Well, instead of going through the laundry list of my flaws, I’ll go through some of the things I think make me a unique person and, well, a good person to know.

First of all, I am open-minded. I think that is my best quality overall because in the world we live in we need to be open to new ideas, and willing to try new things. Explore. I know so many people from different walks of life and while I can either love them or hate them, I do not judge them because it’s their life. Who am I to knock what I don’t know?

Secondly, I love everyone. Not necessarily l o v e everybody, but I hate no one. It takes too much energy out of someone to hate someone. There is a commitment and an effort that you have to put into hating people, and “ain’t nobody got time for that“. Would you much rather focus on happy things that lift you up, or harbor hatred and focus on negative energy that can only create bitterness and animosity? I’d much rather be happy than to be hateful. Sometimes, anger or bitterness cannot be avoided, but it shouldn’t be held on to. No grudges. Just let it go. If it doesn’t make you happy then why keep it around?

I have some good personality traits that make up for the flaws I perceive myself to have, but my flaws are also my strengths, as long as I put a positive spin to them (a little trick I learned in Interviewing 101). I have been told a few times (more often lately than ever before) that I am pretty awesome. I don’t always see it, but I guess that makes me humble. I have always hated vanity and narcissism as I have always had low self-esteem, but with a better attitude you can attract happier people. At least I have in the past year.

I have undergone a transformation. I have gone from a sad, broken woman to a woman who exudes confidence in her smile and walks proudly because I’ve survived. I’ve survived some pretty hard battles and have only become stronger. I’ve learned from it all, which makes me someone special in my own right.

I am Athena. A one-of-a-kind, Honduran “single” mom of two girls, that has come out of some pretty tough times to become who she is today. To think, my best quality is the fact that I have been able to stay smiling and positive and not bitter after everything I’ve been through.

Who knows. Maybe I really am awesome and haven’t fully accepted it as I should. That’s okay, too. I would much rather be humble than overly confident any day because it keeps me grounded. I like it here with the rest of my friends. I could never live above them or presume to be greater because, all in all, the people in my life, who think I’m this super awesome great person are who make me as awesome as I am. I don’t know. This is all over the place, but frankly it’s just hard to put what I like about myself into one organized thought because it all ties together, I guess.

I’m optimistic about the bad things that happen. I see the good in everything bad that happens. My uncle once said,

“There is always a silver lining to the worst possible scenario.”

He was right. Ever since then I’ve always known that things can be worse than what they seem. If you don’t take the good with the bad (and vice versa) then you don’t learn the lesson.

I will forever be the eternal optimistic pessimist. I am forever going to be myself. That’s not so bad, because after all, some people think I’m pretty great and that’s enough for me. Anyone who doesn’t like me for who I am, well, they know where they can take that.

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