I understand. Dancing with yourself sounds crazy, but just hear me out for a moment.

In today’s society, I feel like not enough people are happy being by themselves and embracing who they truly are. Society is pushing us, especially girls, to be sociable and is always giving us tips on “How to be Popular.” What’s the point? Popularity fades over time.

Why waste energy trying to keep up an image of a perfect person, when in actuality you love to wear sweatpants and your hair in a literal messy bun, not one of those cute ones you can find tutorials how to do on Pinterest.

Pretending to be someone you’re not is exhausting, but embracing yourself and being who you really are is not. In fact, it’s a freeing feeling.

For a long time in elementary and middle school, I tried to fit in. I wanted to be popular. I had the chance to be in fourth grade and I went for it. I became friends with the most popular girls in our class and hung out with them during recess and lunch. But, I wasn’t happy. I was an introvert pretending to be an extrovert. That went on for a few years, though I never did get into the “In-Crowd” in middle or high school. I just felt awkward trying to make myself known, even if I wasn’t in the popular crowd.

But, once sophomore year hit and I decided that I should only care what I feel about myself, I started to feel different. I embraced who I really am, which is a comic book-loving, anime-watching, video gaming, tomboy girl that has the smallest feminine side that comes out only for special occasions and the occasional shopping trip.

I stopped trying to find approval in other people and sought it out in myself. I started finding out who I truly am both personality wise and who I am as a Daughter of God. The less I spent worrying about how others looked at me and more on how I saw myself and learned to embrace who I was made to be by God, the freer I felt.

Now, I’m an unashamed Princess of God who will geek out with you if you bring up one of my favorite anime shows or start talking about Harley Quinn. I know, some people will think I’m crazy, and yes, I am a little crazy. I’ve learned to embrace it and love myself for who I am.

Learning to love every little detail about yourself is something beautiful. Be happy with you, because you are the only you on this planet.

So, go ahead and treat yourself. Get yourself that large pizza. Buy the largest froyo cup at Nikki’s and throw all your favorite toppings on it.Binge watch that one Netflix show you’ve been meaning to for months. Spoil yourself and buy one of those cute Self-Love Pinky Rings because you honestly deserve it. Let your hair down, shut up and dance with yourself because that’s just who you are and embrace it.

Because by the time you leave, the grades you made won’t matter. The all-nighters pulled to ace that test won’t matter. What will matter is who you are.

Yes, you will fail and you will fall. That’s life. But as my Modern Dance instructor, Jackie Beth, once said, don’t be afraid to fall.

So, don’t be afraid to fall, because you never know just how the dance will go from there. Falling is not the end of everything, but the beginning of a new phrase in your dance called life. Own it and live unapologetically as your true self!