I'm just gonna 'do' me

Before I begin, I'd like to quickly clear something up! When I use the term 'do' here, I AM NOT MAKING ANY KIND OF SEXUAL REFERENCE! If you continue reading, that will soon be clear haha.

So, I can't quite believe I've been away at University for just about 3 weeks now! The time has absolutely flown by! I'm stuck right into lectures and tutorials now, and my work load is very heavy! But I'm sure I'll get used to it all soon enough, I can already feel certain routines building their way into my life!

Right before I left home for the adventure we all know as 'fresher's week', I made myself a promise: I'm just gonna 'do' me.

You know how when we impersonate someone or something, people often say you 'do' them really well? Well too often I find it easier to adopt the persona of someone (not a real person, just a mash up of the qualities I admire) instead of going into things as 100% me, and I reckon I'm not alone in that.

It's not a case of lying to people, I don't make up stuff about myself. But maybe I act in a slightly different way, or withhold details about my life or interests that I don't think people will share/approve of.

However, since arriving at uni I've done my very best to be a version of me that is as true to me as I possibly can be, while still allowing myself to try new experiences and things that aren't usually 'me', but may become so now that the opportunity is there. I hope I'm making sense!

For example, I go out and go to pubs/clubs when I want, I study when and in the way I want, I drink when I want, I eat what I want , I watch what I want on TV, and, most importantly, when topics like these and others come up in discussion with the friends and peers I've met since arriving here, I answer honestly, whether it be telling them what time I went to bed, or how much I studied for a class. I'm not claiming I have achieved this state of 'doing' me every minute of every day, but that has been my goal and I believe I have improved at it, particularly since the impression I have given of myself now, is the one which will last for the next four or more years.

The main point I want to get across is that too often we (well, me anyway!) worry extensively about how other people will think of us, and then end up caught in a sort of false situation that we feel pressured to fulfil all the time. When you 'do' yourself from the start, then you meet people who are truly similar to you when it comes to the different aspects of your life and personality. I have a friend who I hang out with when I'm not drinking because most likely she isn't either, I have a friend who sits every Sunday and watches Downtown Abbey with me, and one who is happy to go with me to the library when I want to get a book. I have a friend who's is usually up for going to the pub or club with me, and one who goes to church on a Sunday morning, just like me. And these 'friends' are not always the same person because, like me, all my friends have different elements and sides to their personalities that are more prominent at different times. But if I was to  'do' someone else, I may not find the people who are best at being my friends and, almost certainly, I would be far less happy here than I am.

By all means, I would encourage everyone to try, once in a while 'doing' someone or something a little different or even the complete opposite to the you you know, but please, I urge you to do so only to find qualities which you think could become a part of you, and not to hide away from just being yourself.

Many actors and actresses (one example I can think of is the very lovely Carrie Hope Fletcher) say that they find it far easier to go on stage as a character than to go on as themselves (for example at an awards ceremony or other event), because they have a persona and pre-written story behind which to hide. They're right. But they still do it, don't they? And so can we, it just takes a little bit of courage.