Daily writing prompt

What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

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I’m not one to brag about myself. It doesn’t fulfill me in any. I don’t enjoy attention. For this daily prompt, I’ll write about the “quality” that I have that I get most compliments on.

When I was in elementary school, my mom got me two matching sweatsuits as part of my Christmas gift. I remember opening them and thinking that those were the coolest clothes that I’d ever seen! (Think about what a little girl would wear in 1998.) One was pink with bouquets of flowers all over it. The other was purple with the same pattern. I remember one of the little third grade bratty girls saying something along the lines of, “Why would you wear something like that?” I looked down at my outfit and wondered what was wrong with it and carried on about my business. I didn’t care what anyone thought, but I did think of her rude comment as I shamelessly kept wearing my amazing new sweats to school!

Fast forward to high school. I was the “emo” kid. I wore skinny jeans, Converse, and strange tops. I often wore stripes and had long hair with bangs. (I still have the same haircut.) One of the girls in my class once told me that she wishes that she was brave enough to dress like I do, and that it must be nice to put on whatever you wanted and not care what anyone thinks. You may think that this was a rude comment, but I know this girl and she’s one of the nicest people on this earth. But we were fifteen and I think she was looking for a way to compliment me.

Fast forward ten more years. I was working in retail and, I can’t lie, was a little worried about having visible tattoos. I worked in a store that mostly catered to middle-aged and elderly women. As we all know, some have no filter and are a little on the mean side. I ended up getting more compliments from women fifty to seventy years old. They’d say, “I wish I would have gotten tattoos when I was younger, but I was too afraid of what people thought. This is YOUR life. You do whatever you want. You’re only on this earth ONE TIME!” I got that speech from multiple old ladies.

I guess we’ll go forward another ten years. (Man, I’m getting old.) I still have the same mindset. I’m not here to please anyone. I’m comfortable with how I’ve been created. I’m here to do God’s work, raise my babies, be a faithful and honorable wife, and serve my community. I cover my body in long dresses and skirts. I don’t wear makeup. I have no need for attention. It worries me how so many people care about what others think. Where’s the freedom in that? I don’t have the energy to walk around and wonder what anyone is thinking about me. To not care about what society thinks about you and only care about how God feels about you is truly rewarding and liberating. I encourage you to give it a shot. God bless.