To Walk In My Own Shoes

Let me just share to you a new book I’m reading [although I’m still not done with Angela’s Ashes, the one written by 1997 Pulitzer Prize Winner, Frank McCourt]. It’s Discover Your Inner Beauty Queen and it’s just spectacular! I stopped on page 40 last night and I have yet to be thrilled and amazed by the rest of the pages. I’m not going to tell you briefly about the book because I want you to be touched deeply as well.

It’s a book written by a Filipino author, Rissa S. Kawpeng. She’s brought the country and many Christians the book, Confessions of an Impatient Bride. She was formerly a Miss Singson at that time but is now happily married with two kids [if I’m not mistaken].

Reading her book makes me feel rejuvenated [but I’m not yet old, mind you!] and it’s one of those books you’d like to read one chapter a day just so you could internalize every word and just take a few seconds communicating with God and just surrendering to him everything— every trouble, every doubt, every insecurity that bothers you.

Lately, I’ve been getting depressed about how my readers just turned from 17 to 8. I kept on wondering what I wanted to do with my blog to keep my readers engaged. My blog basically talks about anything so long as it comes “from my beautiful mind”. It’s a personal blog but with the intent of promoting our locality, its beauty, its industry and promoting the country as well. Plus, I’ve been feeling a little down lately because I’ve asked a few friends to sponsor my blog and they haven’t contacted me yet. I’ve talked them into this and they’re reactions were positive but still no reply.

The frustration was killing me. I thought of shifting to a fashion blog but I wasn’t at all comfortable about that. I don’t a have a body of a model. I’m not petite and skinny. I may be quite tall but nonetheless I don’t have a body to die for. Haha. I don’t have anything against fashion blogs [as a matter of fact, 4 out of 5 in my blogroll belong to fashion bloggers] but I find that I may not just be able to provide my readers quality posts because I’m not a public figure or a student studying fashion design. I’m not rich and famous to be able to wear what I want to wear. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting too negative but the bottom line is, I want a more-than-that blog. A blog where I can just talk about random thoughts, et cetera. 

See? It's for me and it says: "Shine, Chairein! Heart, Rissa" 

Well anyway this book came just when I needed it most. It lay on the bookshelf where my mom left it. It was a present to me by the way, but my mom had the privilege of reading it first because she said so. How convenient! I was tired of figuring out what I wanted to do with my blog and I realized my blog’s approximately 3 months old. There’s no need to rush things and I can’t expect readers and viewers to flood overnight. I decided to stop for a while. I felt I was exerting too much effort when it wasn’t needed at all. Thus, I took out the book and started reading it. Had I known how life- changing its contents were, I would have objected to my mom’s reading it first. 

Last night, chapter 7 was about walking in your own shoes. This book focuses on finding true beauty, the one found inside a person and how to attain it. Although I have personal realizations with regards to unfading beauty, I liken last night’s chapter to my present trouble now. 

This chapter deeply touched me as I was in the dilemma of shifting to a blog I didn’t know how quite to begin with or simply pursuing the blog which didn’t quite attract readers fast but the same blog that involved doing the thing I loved the most.The topic talked about how Rissa struggled to take other people’s advice like acting a little less humorless and dumb just so she could find a man who would eventually take her for his wife. These were according to his father’s and sister’s point of views that men like it when they’re funnier and more intelligent than their counterparts. But as expected, she failed. The advice given to her where other people’s perceptions and the things which may have worked for them, but Rissa was different. She was not going to walk into other people’s shoes because God created her unique and beautiful in her own way. She realized these simple yet wonderful truths about herself and about us women in general.

“Don’t let your individuality melt away. God fashioned you with your own shoes to fill. And those fit you perfectly. So walk in your own shoes.”

Thanks to Rissa, now I know that beauty is more than just skin-deep and that you don’t have to change who you are just to be loved and accepted. 

To liken this learning to my present blog dilemma, I can simply talk about what I want without having to care if people would like it or not because I know some will and to those people, thank you! You inspire me to make better posts and write-ups. 

Blog dilemma case… solved! Have a good day!