Free to be...me?

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." - e.e. cummings

This is a quote I tend to use a lot, mostly because it reminds me that being me is quite alright. And lately, I've been realizing that "being me" is extremely complicated.

In a conversation at work the other day, my co-workers learned that I was a huge band geek and that I play the flute. A statement was made that I didn't seem like a flute player. Which is interesting, because I don't really see myself being anything else (I played saxophone a little bit, but wouldn't call myself a sax player).

In recent months, I haven't done much reading for fun. I used to read 25-30 books a year. And I realized the other day that I miss it a lot. I have an entire shelf of books in my apartment and I've maybe read half of them. I made a point to go out and buy a book in hopes to kickstart my reading habit again.

And then there are the parts of who I am that I'm not sure what to think yet. I posted a Facebook status update the other day that said "Runs, but is not a runner." and it ended up turning more into a Jeopardy question/riddle. But, I don't consider myself a runner, even though I've been running. Or am I runner? I ask myself the same question with yoga (which I haven't done for a long time, but plotting my comeback). I like yoga, but am I a yogi?

What most of us still need to learn (especially me) is that only we define who we are. Others may put labels on us; they may try to put square pegs in round holes; they may tell us we can or can't do something. 

We have the power to be ourselves. We have the power to do this, regardless of how others try to view us or categorize us. We need to be ourselves, despite what others think. There comes a point when we have to make the decision to define who we are.

For me, that day is today.