Of Hiding Out and Hurtful Words

(You are cautious in showing yourself to others.)

No, really?
Sarcasm aside, it's true. I've modeled, I've performed, I've even strutted my stuff down the cat walk in front of the Editor-in-chief at Vogue. But when it comes down to it, I hide. And I'm willing to bet so do you.
We spend hours perfecting ourselves for others. Think about it: when you have a date, you don't just roll out of bed, throw on some sweats and go. You spend a good chunk of time trying to make yourself look as best as you possibly can (and I agree, when you think you look good you feel much more confident.)
But what about those times when you do just get out of bed? Those sweat pants aren't just there because they are comfy.
There are times in our lives when we are our true selves- before our morning coffee, in the privacy of our own home, or simply when we are with people we've known our entire lives. These are times we don't care what we look like, what we are wearing, or how we sound. We aren't hiding.
I used to babysit this kid who I absolutely adored. Not because he was sweet and funny and way smart for a small child (he was all of that, he's a great kid) but because he didn't understand what it meant to hide himself from others. Most kids are like this. THey will say anything, any time, do anything without really thinking about the ramifications. I admired this 4 year old and he didn't even understand why. He was fearless towards other people– he hadn't been hurt or depressed or used. Life to him was simple: treat others as you would like to be treated.
As adults we sometimes forget this and in turn we get hurt or sometimes do the hurting. The consequences are issues with trust and honesty and before we know it, we hide our true selves from not only others, but we begin to lose sight of who we really are, too.

Here's to breaking out; to leaving our hiding places with our unkempt hair and sweat pants, to showing who we really are all the time. Here's to yelling olly-olly-oxen-free when it really counts, when you find someone you not only don't want to hide from, but someone you want to break out your embarrassing collections for and share all those times when you aren't made up.
Here's to reconnecting with that inner four year old that is fearless in all the right ways.