As My Grandma Once Told Me, You Can't Be All Things To All People - Lauren Flake

My grandma once told me, “You can’t be all things to all people.”

But dang it if I wasn’t going to try.

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As my grandma once told me, you can’t be all things to all people.

I’ve been everything.

I’ve been the shy, quiet girl.

I’ve been the party girl.

I’ve been the loud, “life of the party” girl.

I’ve been the bookish, words-loving, nerdy girl.

I’ve been the hilarious, carefree girl.

I’ve been the church girl.

I’ve been the religious, innocent, church-going girl.

I’ve been the wild, free, party-going girl.

I’ve been the artsy, creative writer girl.

I’ve been the serious, studious girl.

I’ve been the fun, charismatic girl.

I’ve been the caregiver.

I’ve been the exhausted caregiver.

I’ve been the grieving daughter.

I’ve been the wife.

I’ve been the nagging wife.

I’ve been the supportive wife.

I’ve been the mom.

I’ve been the cranky mom.

I’ve been the fun mom.

I’ve been the neighbor.

I’ve been the good neighbor.

I’ve been the dog rescuer.

I’ve been the friend.

I’ve been the crazy, unpredictable friend.

I’ve been the loyal, helpful friend.

I’ve been the introvert.

I’ve been the extrovert.

I’ve been the conservative.

I’ve been the progressive.

I’ve been the trendy girl.

I’ve been the classic girl.

I’ve been the Enneagram 6 controlled by fear of bad things.

I’ve been the Enneagram 7 wing controlled by fear of missing out on something fun.

I’ve always just been me.

But, really and truly, I’ve always just been me.

The real me is somewhere in between the many roles I’ve filled.

My grandma was right.

I can’t be all things to all people because I will only ever be me.

And I am so tired of trying to be more than just me.