Upside-down in a right-side-up world.
It’s hard to accept that you are you.
In my particular case, it’s taken years to accept that I am not great at follow-through; or that I will never be taller than 5’5″ and 3/4 (the 3/4″ is important, you know). It’s a little weird to think that I will never know the thrill of being, say, a Rhodes scholar, or a champion snowboarder, or a violin virtuoso.
But the definite upside is realizing that when I am me, I am happiest.
Wearing glasses make me happy; same goes for flat shoes.
I like to talk to strangers: it’s loose acquaintances that oftentimes make me strangely self-conscious and tongue-tied.
And above all, I love to laugh at silly things. If I couldn’t laugh or crack jokes, I would be a very sad me.
So here is a picture of ducks’ butts. You’re welcome.
A Daily Dose of Zen Sarcasm! 
*nods* We spend so much of our lives being the person we think someone else wants – the child we think our parents want, the friend we think is wanted, the lover/mate of the person we want, the parent we think our kids need/want – that we ignore who we want ourselves to be.
When we finally learn to shake off the expectations of other people and look at who we are and want to be then we become the happiest we can be. We tried to teach that to our daughter because we recognized all the wasted years of our lives. It’s not easy though when society in general pushes you to be the person expected by others and calls any attempt to be yourself “selfish”.
So, be yourself. Be happy wearing glasses and flat shoes. Sing and dance in the rain if that makes you happy. We really don’t have long lifespans. Live yours not someone else’s expectations.
And teach your sons to live theirs and let others live their own. It’s a rare gift to have and much treasured.
This is really lovely & well said. The older I get, the less I care about conforming to standards and compromising who I am in order to make others happy. We spend far too much of our lives fighting our true selves (and consequently missing out on happiness) — it’s not always easy, but accepting who you truly are really makes life so much more enjoyable!