Whatever they want.
You would think that with all the advancements we have made-technology, education, progress- that being ourselves and doing what we want would be the least of our problems. That we’d have conquered that already.
But we have not. Too many of us have been so institutionalized that we lost the will and desire to do and be ourselves. We have bought the dreams sold to us and started acting like they were ours all along. And I don’t blame anyone. It is not easy to divert from paths we have grew up believing were the right ones.
That is why I admire people who do.
And I don’t mean only the ones that changed the world and left us with millions of quotes to live by.
I mean all of them. The everyday ones. The ones who just do their thing. I may not like what they do. May disagree with their ideologies. But I respect the fact that they keep at it-judge if you want, curse, pray, condemn- and they still show up as themselves.
Take what’s happening in my country right now: A wave of BBL surgeries and weight-loss procedures. Some of the women I used to admire have taken them up. Sure, I have unfollowed them because all they want to post now are pictures of their new bodies- and I’m not sure how that helps me grow. But I do admire that they went ahead and did it.
Would I have preferred if the money was used differently? Sure. Do I think the gym and healthier eating might have been the better decision? Probably. But it’s their bodies, not mine. And if I sit here insisting I know better, I’m just another one of the folks who judge.
Maybe it’s not the “best” example. Maybe you’d prefer stories of people who did things for the greater good, who left us with lessons to live by. But not today.
Today, my admiration is for anyone who dares to be themselves in a world full of people who think they know better ways. And let’s be honest—we all have those moments.
To live authentically, even imperfectly, is to push back against the weight of conformity.
And in the end, it’s not about agreeing with every choice. It’s about honouring the courage it takes to live them.
NdukuOutLoud 
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