Never change who we are for anybody else
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- June 5, 2025
- 117
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
—Katharine Hepburn
We want to fit in; that is just human nature. What were we taught in school? To follow the rules. Teachers are paid to do a job, and our parents wanted to make their job peaceful. Plus, we were kids. They knew better than we did. Now, however, we are the adults, and we get to have more leeway. Unfortunately, we are still trying to follow rules that don’t apply to us anymore. Rules that were helpful in the past now serve as a hindrance to us.
Remember when you wanted to be the first person on Mars, a brain surgeon, the president or see the world. What happened? Reality can be a cruel teacher. We got a job, have bills to pay, have kids and don’t even recognize the kid who dreamed.
Life happens to us all. I was one of the lucky ones. I get to live my dream as a writer, but not on the level I dreamed. That is fine with me, but who knows what the future holds? I broke all the rules. I’m not good at spelling. Forget about me editing. I have a learning disability. You would not believe how many people give me flak for writing that I have a learning disability. The thing is an intellectual disability is different from a learning disability. I have actually just this year accepted a seat on the Training Center board.
My point is I should not let my writing be determined based on a lack of understanding by one of my friends. I feel I do compromise my writing to make people happy. Sometimes I have wanted to use the phrase, “we are the captain of our own ship,” but I shrink back because I know people who would say I am leaving God out of the equation. However, the captain reserves the right to give the ship over to God.
We are not here to please others; we must be true to ourselves. If we only play by the rules that others set forth, we can’t be all that God created us to be.
It is uncomfortable to depart from the rules placed upon us. It might be good if we go over what we might say to people and how we will respond. Has somebody said something, and later you think of everything you should have said?
We can run it over in our mind, and maybe next time we will be better. Of course, keep it respectful. This may take a very long time. Don’t go out and just mow people over. Talk to a friend, pastor or counselor, and most importantly, talk to God.
Kyle Snyder can be emailed at kylesnyder86@yahoo.com.