Dr. Seuss once said, "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Those words are words that have always stuck with me in my life. Granted, there's bound to be people who are an everyday part of our lives who may not care for who we are, what we feel or what matters to us, but at some point we can at least learn to coexist, right?
The other day I was waiting in the lobby of a retail store. While I was there I was listening to a few women talk about a designer purse that one of the women was holding. There were talks about boyfriends and fiances buying them their purses, asking the ladies if they wanted another purse for Christmas, sharing which year the purse came out, blah, blah, blah. I remember at that moment thinking, "Gosh, I can't remember the last time I bought a purse." I then began thinking about the fact that I too owned a designer purse- a purse I purchased 5 years ago that I'd probably never spend that money on today.
The conversation then led to discussions about custom designed engagement rings- yet another commonality these women shared. They discussed the pressure they felt in choosing the perfect ring, the fact that they needed to pick out just the right one that they'd want to wear for at least 15 years (not because divorce was on the brain, but just in case it was time to step up to a new and improved ring by then). I listened quite intently on these women as they chattered away about custom engagement rings until I found myself getting lost in thoughts about what I would want. Sure, if someone tells you they want you to design your own ring, that's one thing, but I began to wonder what ever happened to just being thankful for what you're given by the person you love, and whatever happened to what the ring really stands for?
As I listened to these two conversations, which only took place over the course of about 10 minutes, I had a few quick thoughtful moments where I wondered if a designer purse and a custom made engagement ring were things that mattered to me. In fact, I even questioned why I didn't care. I ACTUALLY found myself saying as I sat back in my baseball sweatshirt and flip flops, "I wonder if this makes me less of a lady for not caring?"
That's when I stopped my thoughts and even stopped my eavesdropping. I realized that who I am doesn't revolve around designer this and custom that. Do I own things with labels? Yep. Do I sometimes prefer one label over the other? Sometimes. Do I care enough to talk about labels and designer this and what's the hottest label everyone else is wearing? No, not really. Does it make me less of a lady? Hell no. Would I want a custom engagement ring? If there was meaning behind it, sure. Would I ever in a million years expect it? Definitely not. Would I stress over it if I had it? I'm pretty sure there's far more worries in the world.
You see, I may have been the girl in that lobby who was wearing her sweats, donning my favorite sport on the front of my sweatshirt, clutching onto a Guess wallet from a few years ago that I haven't replaced because, well, I like it and it doesn't look warn. And, I may have already taken my makeup off for the day and I may have been sporting the two rings that never leave my fingers, are small and simple, but hold deep meaning- but, I realized that just because my thoughts weren't similar to that of the three women in the lobby it didn't make me less of a lady or less of a person- it made me who I am, and that's someone that matters to me.
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