Being authentically yourself means that you are aware of your boundaries and your own limitations. You’ll be able to tell when someone crosses your boundaries. However, if you don’t set boundaries, it’s possible that others will take advantage of you and walk all over you. You are more likely to recognize when someone is abusing you if you set boundaries and remain true to yourself at all times. Your life is more likely to be focused and directed when you are being authentically yourself at all times. Being loyal to who you are increases the likelihood that you will know what you want to achieve and how to get there. In spite of this, I made an effort to project the image of a fake party girl someone who loved to go out to bars and flirt with boys and was quite extroverted. However, this is not even close to the reality. I honestly think about this memory a lot because I recall realizing at the conclusion of the date that he wasn’t interested. The thing that bothered me the most was my attempt to change who I was for this stranger into something quite different from who I really was. The lesson from this story is that you do not have to alter who you are in order to appear more “attractive” to others.
