You are valid, no matter what society tells you

Hello lovely community friends! I hope everyone had a great holiday!

I just wanted to put it out there and remind all of you that no matter what, your identities are wonderful just the way you are. With so many stereotypes in the world, we often feel pressure to be a certain way or feel a need to smash the restrictive norms and build a better and more validating future for everyone. Both are completely valid feelings to have. "Norms" can be harmful for many people, but also part of the identities of many others.

It doesn't matter if you conform or do not conform to certain stereotypes, because keep in mind that any trait about you is only one aspect of your vast, expansive, complex, and extraordinary identity. Just because you are seen as a basic cliche by some people in the world does not mean that you are a boring person that perpetuates stereotypes, and just because you are different from some people in the world does not mean you're weird or any less deserving of love, acceptance, and appreciation as anyone else. ALL of you have a right to your emotions, feelings, likes, dislikes, and personality traits. No matter how you identify or who you are, you are beautiful and valid. There is so much pressure to act like others or be unique that we often forget that we are all living for ourselves, not the pleasure of other people.

Let's all embrace one another - our similarities and differences - and make this next year a great one, full of love and understanding for all.