As a performer, storyteller, dad rapper, and TEDx speaker, I can assure you that my path to be my authentic self was anything but linear.
Growing up, I learned that the best thing that I could be was out of the way.
Kept my grades up. Stayed out of trouble.
Never asked questions.
I did my best to be accommodating to the people and systems around me, because that’s what I understood to be the way that I could receive love.
If something didn’t feel quite right, it didn’t matter. If I was exhausted or plain sick of doing something, it didn’t matter.
If I didn’t like the person who I had to be to keep these high standards, it didn’t matter. I didn’t see any alternative.
I carried these 'notions' from my external environment and wore them for years like a second skin.