Let Me Be Myself

I am sharing with you a post I found in Daily Dose, a site in Facebook.  It perfectly summarizes my needs to be appreciated, understood and supported.  Does it apply to you, too?

Let me be myself.

I am a complicated person. Difficult, stubborn, and intense. I’m going to say and do things that make you uncomfortable. I do things that make myself uncomfortable. All I ask of you is that you allow me to say and do these things, for the sake of my progress as a person. Allow me to make mistakes, but also give me some time to learn from them and right my wrongs.

Support the things I do, the things I am passionate about. You might not agree with everything I believe, but at least encourage me to stand behind my beliefs and stay true to myself. Push me to grow as a person by talking things out with me and brainstorming ways I can improve the world around me.

Don’t suggest I change who I am because of my fear of failure. Urge me to keep going, to stay persistent when I’m trying to solve a problem. Assure me that I can do it, whatever it may be, but be there to comfort me when I realize that I can’t. Help me to answer all of my questions about the way the world works, but remind me that there are some answers I will never find. Listen when I need to talk, and respond accordingly.

- Ryan Thussey