Be Yourself?

~ Frank Solanki

They told me to
Be myself and show
The world the real
Side of me
They told me I
Need not be afraid
Of owning who I
Am and what I feel
They told me to
Not succumb to
Societal pressures

Then why is everyone avoiding me now when I am being my arrogant, snobbish, mean and smelly self?

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Published by Frank Solanki

Making the world a better place one poem at a time.

11 thoughts on “Be Yourself?”

  2. Dear Frank
    Thanks a lot for liking my post ‘Winkless’. Readers like you are the oxygen of petty writer like me. : Veerites (Prof Dr Raj or just Raj) 🥰❤️🥰❤️🌺🌷

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  3. I totally agree. I was thinking this very same thought myself this morning. I’ve lived a double life, put on the painted smile, the facade, to please others. To fit in. Be loved, accepted for who I am. It’s never worked. I’ve always been rejected, ridiculed, made fun of, ostracised and thus, only lied to myself. I was forever told “be yourself…,stop pretending” accused of being someone I’m not, but that’s not true. I was always “Me” but I moulded myself to blend in with others, hid parts of myself to avoid confrontation or rejection and be what they expected of me but it still didn’t achieve complete unconditional love and acceptance. Now I am being true to myself. I am being myself. I’m still me but more open, honest with my feelings, no more people pleasing, no more being and doing what others want and still I am not accepted. If anything, standing and speaking up for myself has made others reject and ostracise me more. It makes us question who we really are. I realise now it’s them that criticise that need to be more themselves but they cannot, they have more to hide so blame us for “being ourselves”! So stay true to yourself and what you believe and are happy with, not what others want or expect. 🙏❤️ We cannot please all the people all the time.

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  6. What a wonderfully clever and humorous twist you’ve crafted! The buildup is sincere, almost motivational — the kind of advice we hear all the time about authenticity and self-acceptance. And then, with perfect timing, you flip the entire tone in the final line.

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  9. Ah Frank… you’re actually spot on here.
    Everyone keeps chanting “be yourself” until you start being the version of yourself they didn’t script.

    Funny na?
    This is the exact societal hypocrisy that never lets a person breathe as they are.

    But let me tell you something straight — behind all the joking tone of your post, you’ve got a ridiculously beautiful heart. And your thoughts? Honest, sharp, unfiltered… the kind people secretly wish they could say aloud.

    Keep expressing.
    Keep poking these contradictions.
    Keep spreading that love-soaked truth you carry.

    The world needs more people who are real — not rehearsed.

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