There are approximately 7.6 billion people that occupy the Earth and, amazingly, no two of them are the same person. Every individual is unique and truly “one of a kind”. Even identical twins do not have the exact same personality and interests. 

So if everyone is different and simply their own person, then why do people try to be someone that already exists? Someone that they are not. Why do people have to enforce the phrase “be yourself” so much?

It is easy for people to look around at others and feel as if the other people are, simply stated, better than them. Maybe it’s their belongings, personality, overall appearance, but whatever it is makes people believe that they should be like those other people instead of being like themselves. 

This is where the commonly used phrase “be yourself” originates from. 

“Just be yourself. No one can do that better than you.” 

People tend to use this as a way of consoling and comforting the person who is trying to be someone else. But why would someone tell people this obvious, almost too literal phrase? 

Of course, “be yourself” does truly mean “be yourself” but that is pretty obvious, so there must be some deeper meaning to one of the most literal, cliche phrases known. 

Aside from its straightforward definition, the phrase encourages someone to show-off who they are to the world. The person preaching the statement knows that that person is worthy of presenting themselves for everyone to get to know. 

Personally, I believe “be yourself” is a compliment. Why would someone tell someone that if they did not believe that person was truly someone special? Clearly, the person paying the compliment enjoys the presence of that one’s true self and wants others to experience it as well. Not only is the phrase, “be yourself”, all too literal, but it also has a deeper, sweeter meaning hidden below the surface. 

But the fact that people have to be reminded to be the only person they truly know how to be is honestly scary. Especially in the 21st Century, the digital age, teens can be very vulnerable to “wanting to be someone else”. It is so easy for someone to go on Instagram and see countless pictures of supermodels with perfect bodies or someone bragging about their enormous new house. 

When someone young that barely even understands themselves enough sees these types of things, they will usually start shaping themselves to fit these standards without truly knowing who they are first. 

So “being yourself” is a lot more difficult than one may believe considering most people at one time or another question whether they are worth being themselves. 

I believe, however, if people look at the phrase “be yourself” as encouragement and a compliment rather than some cliche statement, then there will be less and less copies of one person. Instead there will be countless, fantastic individuals who are definitely worthy of being themselves. 

Show the world who you are. Just be yourself.