What would people be surprised to know about you?

This morning, I caught myself wondering about this question after watching a story about a teacher who gave her 3rd grade students an assignment in a similar fashion…she merely asked them to finish this sentence, “I wish my teacher knew…” and she was very surprised at some of the responses her students gave her.  Some of which were very honest.  Here is the video…

And as I found myself saddened by the sincerity of the kids and the life they live, I wondered how many of us have secrets that no one knows about. Not shameful secrets, but hidden pieces of ourselves that few people ever really see.  Hidden behind walls of smiles and never talked about are the real faces of who we are.  Of what we live with and how we have come to this place.

Some of us would feel shame, regret, or guilt if people knew a little more than what we show them.  But maybe it just helps them understand a little better.  It is difficult to allow people to see a side of us we ourselves wish wasn’t there, but we should never find humiliation or ask for forgiveness for something no one else could possibly understand.

But I am referring to something different.

I am talking about letting your true personality come through…actually letting people see who you are.

In order to get you started on this new venture, I am willing to share a few things about myself that most people don’t know.

(Deep breath inserted here.)

• I played the accordion for 2 years when I was 5 years old
• I love to sing (in the shower, in the car, etc)
• I don’t know how to be a girly-girl (not a big surprise to some)
• I love to cook/bake for friends and family
• My summer salsa is pretty darn good (should be another food group)
• I had 60 stitches on my face from a dog “incident” (“attack” sounds much too aggressive than it really was)
• I love to watch other people do what they love
• I used to scrapbook (will do this again)
• I am more spontaneous now than I have ever been
• I have a tattoo

Whew…that’s over.  And I am still here, so I guess that is a good thing.

Why did I share that with you?  I didn’t have to and it certainly wasn’t for credit for an assignment.  But I just wondered what would happen if we would put down a few walls every now and again and let people see a little of who we are.

Some of the toughest people I know have the biggest hearts, but you would never know it.  They care so deeply and so much that it hurts them even more than anyone of us would ever think.  But you couldn’t tell.

I know people who can dress to the hilt and yet throw on some running shoes and run 7 miles at a time.  People who would never open up to in the office will dance the night away if you let them.  The best sense of humors come from the least likely of places, if we only gave them an opportunity to make us laugh.

The good, the bad, and the ugly makes up who you are, so you cannot just leave out the bad chapters.  It is taking the steps you took that brought you here.  If I care anything about you, even just as another human being, then I learn more about you by listening to your story.  Living your life to the fullest is how you share your story with the rest of us and even when you think you are not saying too much, you in fact are telling us something too.

What does YOUR story look like?  What would people be surprised to know about you? How did you get here?

[bctt tweet=”Share your life with others. Tell the story you know best. “]

Michelle A. Homme 2015 ©