At the moment I'm re-reading The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp.
And to quote him,

'Find out who you want to be in life and then be it like mad'.


One of my favourite quotes and I wish I'd read this book when I was a teenager. It would have saved me from a lot of sadness.
( girlinthehole, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 8:14, 6 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

crikey, wish i'd read that twenty-odd years ago...
could've saved me from much wasted time and heartache...
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Sun 19 Jul 2009, 8:46, Reply)

A good quote
I must say.

The problem I'm worried about though is that of impending age. What I mean by that is that it seems to be allowed to be "different" until one gets old.

Young(ish) person who doesn't conform = free spirit

Old person ditto = oddball / mad.

I don't see me being able to carry on as I am in 10 year's time. I don't mind being thought of as being a mad old codger in some ways, it's more the reactions of those close to me I worry about. They've got used to me being me, I just worry that in a few year's time me being me will be something they are ashamed of.

God I hate getting old.

Sorry if none of the above makes much sense; too early in the morning for such introspections...
( I_Was_Mordred, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 8:55, Reply)

Don't worry about other people.
My family think I'm strange. My weird love life, (what they know of), my piercings, (what they know of), but as long as you're a good person it doesn't matter how weird you may seem or look to them.

I just wish I'd been braver when young to live how I wanted. Even now I'm only a small part of who I should be but I'm trying to overcome that.
( girlinthehole, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 9:44, Reply)

when I was about 11
a substitute teacher from america was visiting my school. And he saw what the other kids were doing to me. At the end of his 8 week stay, he wrote me a note and told me to think about it and to not let other people get to me. It said :

"Unique, is not to be different, but to be yourself. You are unique. Don't get lost."

I'm still trying to work it out properly. I have more of an idea then I did 6 years ago at least.
(Poppet some assembly required., Sun 19 Jul 2009, 9:12, Reply)

Me too Blousie
It's only now, several years after breaking up with Control Freak Ex, that I'm enjoying finding out who I am, and I'm just beginning to be it like mad. It's one of life's greatest pleasures - the freedom to be oneself. Fear of making mistakes and getting abuse for not being what someone else wanted me to be stopped me from experiencing this for nearly a decade and a half. I was scared to live. Fuck that. Being me is ace.
( warmfuzzies Isn't here, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 9:28, Reply)

Superb, Blouse gal! Mornin lovely folks.
I was always 'myself'. I got bullied in school for it but there was always a good voice in my head saying "Keep being you. You won't be a kid forever". Then lo and behold, my ex, who loved my eccentricity when I was 16, slowly started to resent it, and resent my growing femininity and 'sass'. For 10 years I was stifled. 5 years after our split I'm still enjoying the process of becoming me. Bliss.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 10:22, Reply)