Be "Yourself"? Or Be Yourself?

     One thing I have been thinking about recently is what it means to be yourself. We have all heard someone say it before, you know, the classic "Just be yourself!". Well, what does it mean? Is that really what we should live by?
     See, the thing I have been brainstorming about is whether or not I 'should' be "myself". Part of me would be content and happy to fall in love, and maybe even marry someone of the same-sex, but a now more dominant side of me sees it as something that would not bring me happiness.
     Just today I had one of my friends who I trusted to tell about my SSA encourage me to just "be myself" and questioned why I stayed in the church when the church was trying to "change" who I 'was'. Well, truth be told, today was my graduation from High School, and in almost every graduation speech the statement "just be yourself" was used in one way or another. In the world we live in today people seem more than happy to embrace and flaunt their shortcomings.
     Acceptance is a wonderful thing, and is part of the gospel, but the world has taken acceptance and corrupted it. Acceptance in the world today often refers to accepting someone for their problems. We accept gays, lesbians, people with tattoos, piercings, over the top hair and clothing styles, drug addictions, pornography and sex addictions, constant profanity usage, sex before marriage, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on, but the question is, are we 'accepting' them? Or just Justifying their actions?
     We should love everyone, and accept them the way the Lord wishes us to. If I were to listen to every person who 'accepts' me, I would be dating guys right now and would no longer be a member of the LDS church. What has made the difference in my life is that I have an understanding of what I can become. Not what I AM, not what I HAVE, but what I, Me, Myself, can become through God.
     This life is not about coming to 'accept' yourself, or even just being 'yourself'. Granted everyone has their own personality, their own God-given gifts that define individuality and bring out the best in each of us, and individuality is a good thing, however this life, God's plan, is about becoming the best that we can be and to not settle for just ourselves here and now, but to settle for nothing less than the best us we can be.

     If you struggle with anything, whether it be SSA, addictions, destructive behaviours, whatever it may be, understand that they DO NOT need to define you. We all have individual trials in our lives, but they do not have to 'be' us. We choose who we are, we grow to become the best us, and no human has the right to take that away. Through God, you can become the you that you were meant to be, the real you, the best you, and this I testify to be true.