I admit it. I love external validation. Tell me I’m smart if you want to watch a grown woman blush.
Time and again, I have given too much power to someone’s bad opinion of me, distorting my self-image and warping my vision. I have watched with bated breath as people dissect my ideas, quietly gutting myself with every slice, and I have barely contained all too many squeals of delight when paid an authentic compliment. I often think of this as a single-direction dependency, but there is another angle that I rarely admit: I have the power to glitter up a room.
I could listen to Lizzo’s “Juice” a thousand times. She’s unapologetically the center of attention, the hottest badass in the room. I love the chorus, especially the line, “if I’m shinin’ everybody gonna shine.” There is something in me like leadership, and while it’s most often muted, pushed aside, or otherwise covered in the filth of my own self-disrespect, I can feel its potential glimmering from time to time.
“If I’m shinin’ everybody gonna shine.” – Lizzo (Juice)
My years of working in theatre taught me to read a room, and when all eyes are on me, the pinprick of excitement is at the base of my spine. I love inspiring happiness, and I love being messy. I laugh too loud and on the rare occasions that I dance, I dance with strange, sporadic, jiggly abandon. In my best moments, I give people permission to be as joyful as I am.
I’ve been down lately. I haven’t been engaging and I haven’t been creative. Sometimes I need to protect myself—I won’t apologize for that—but I’ll admit to being withdrawn for a few months. In the past week, I’ve been reminding myself of my own badassery. Big steps include: writing in this blog again / wearing lots of glitter / listening to “Juice” on repeat today / making new friends / getting good work done.
The best part, the very best part, is that when I’m feeling myself, I see my wife’s eyes light up with a thing like hope.