Accepting myself and truly being myself was something I had to learn. For a while, I believed that minimizing what made me, me was something that I had to do in order to be liked. I was so used to putting on a disguise that eventually, I couldn’t recognize myself. I began forgetting what I liked, what I enjoyed and just overall lost myself. I lived for months in someone else’s skin for others' approval. Until one day, I decided I was tired of it all. I worked a temporary job that would only last two weeks. I realized that I wouldn’t see them after, so if they didn’t like me for who I was, it didn’t really matter. What happened after was the opposite of what I assumed. As I showed up for myself and embraced who I was, I found that people liked that. It was a shock and a major sign that I should continue to be authentically myself. Going back to the people I had known before made it hard to maintain that. There were times when I wanted to try to do something I wouldn’t do or agree with something I disagreed with to make another person like me, but I knew that was a step back. Despite my fears, I persisted through it. Learning not to people-please was a hurdle, but continuing not to people-please was harder. Especially when I lost friends since I “changed” in their eyes. I don’t regret it, and I only hope to continue to be my most authentic self every day by shedding people’s perceptions and opinions about me.