Be the person you’re meant to be, not told to be.

By Agastyaa Goradia, age 13, founder of mindovermatter.help an initiative by the teens, for the teens

A simple question arises in my mind, “Why is it so hard for us to be ourselves, to take the opportunity, to speak up? Where has the self-confidence gone?”

The answer isn’t as complicated as you would’ve expected. It’s because we’re scared. Scared of a multitude of possibilities that we create in our minds that could go wrong. Scared of being abrogatively judged

This stems from our pathological need to be defined by the third person’s idea of who we are and wanting their approval. We’ve understood and adjusted ourselves to be the person others think we are and there’s something deeply wrong with that.

It stops us from being who we really are and who we aspire to be.

If you’re looking for self-confidence, ask yourself , “who am I?” and find your own truths, embrace them and spread that light in the world that so desperately seeks it.

There’s as many opinions of you as there are people.

You are not what they think you are, you are not the people you love and the ones that love you, you are something beyond everyone else, someone only you can be.

And once you find it,

Be yourself so fierce fully that you do not accept any negativity whatsoever, no excuses.

Be yourself so beautifully that you start loving yourself.

It’s never going to be easy, but it’s a gift that’s worth it.

What I’m really trying to say is take the chance — speak up when you want to, sing a little louder and dance your soul out even if there’s everybody watching because everybody doesn’t matter, post that picture, tell the people you love that you love them and do the things that set your heart on fire.

Because ultimately it is YOU WHO MATTERS