Authenticity is Scary?
Yes? No? Maybe
What comes to mind when you think of authenticity? Is it you? Is it someone you know— someone you envy? Do you beam with pride knowing you’re living in your full truth, or does it make you question yourself in how you’re showing up?
The pressure of living in your most authentic and true YOU, paired with the pressure of how that authenticity can be perceived, can be quite a scary and intimidating thought. One that gets quite a few people stuck in rut of self-doubt. Maybe people will think I’m too much. Maybe people will think I’m not enough. Did I say too much? Was I interesting? Was I too loud—too quiet?
No matter where you are in the world, chances are someone else is in the room is asking themselves the same things.
Through the many gatherings and pop-ups we’ve hosted with LCC and LC, we’ve met countless wonderful people—nearly all of whom have shared a similar thought:
“I wasn’t sure if I should come.”
Almost always followed by a harsh or unkind belief about themselves—rooted in the pressure to meet the made-up standards of the people around them.
One of the hardest parts of being alive right now is the weight of perception; how we’re seen, how we’re received, the fear of not fitting in, not being liked, not being accepted. That feeling?? It’s natural, universal even. But the reality is, none of us were made to fit a mold. We are humans—flawed, radiant, ever-changing, and every single one of us is wildly different on a soul level from anyone else we’ve ever met. That’s the beauty of it.
I talk about this in my bio, and if we’ve ever met in real life, you’ve probably heard me say it at least once:
Life is too short to shrink yourself for someone else’s comfort.
My philosophy is simple: exist fully as you. Wear what makes you feel good. Do what brings you joy. Be loud when you want to be, quiet when you need to be. Don’t conform. Don’t dim your light. Don’t make yourself smaller to fit into spaces that were never meant for your whole self.
In the collective and in our pop-ups, our mission has always been to create spaces for everyone. Spaces that are safe, healing, accepting, and without any preconceived judgments or notions. It is so incredibly hard to be a human, and at the end of the day your life is no less important or meaningful than the stranger next to you. Everyone you walk past on the street, in the coffee shop, at work—they’re all trying to figure life out too, just like you. The first step to kindness is acceptance and the second is respect, two things that are the foundation to basic human rights—whether you understand someone or not. And in these times, it can feel like we as a society have strayed quite far away from these concepts. This is exactly why we have created the spaces we have. To remind you:
It’s not just okay—it’s beautiful to show up as nothing but yourself.
And guess what?
We’re going to love you wholly.
So as you go out into the world, remember:
Show kindness.
Show respect.
Show love.
And let’s keep building the kind of world that everyone, including you, deserves.
xoxo -A
