Be Yourself by J.Q. Rose
Originally published as a guest post at author Lisa Orchard's blog. Click here to visit Lisa's blog.
Are you familiar with the song, “Little Boxes” written in 1963 by Melvina Reynolds?
~Listen to the song performed by two talented young ladies, the Wayukes, on Youtube.
VIDEO:
"Little Boxes" performed by the Wayukes
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same,
There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same,
There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
Listeners to the catchy tune and lyrics have several ideas for its meaning. One of them is the protest against all the cheap housing of suburbia which sprang up in the 60’s. People called the sub-divisions a cookie-cutter method of building homes with ticky tacky or shoddy materials.
Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken.
~~Oscar Wilde
The message I receive from the lyrics is the complaint of everyone trying to be the same and not stand out, but conforming to what someone else thinks they should be. Pre-teens and teens especially want to “fit in.” A person is embarrassed or humiliated for being different. Wearing the wrong clothes, having big ears, not speaking clearly can all be reasons for a bully or uncaring person to criticize and make fun. Sad to say the teasing happens all the time, and it is hurtful.
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| Girls Succeed! Inspiring girls to achieve success in their dream careers |
In my non-fiction ebook for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, the family of a woman I interviewed moved so many times when she was a child, she couldn’t make friends. She was always the odd one in a group. Because she didn’t want to stand out, she tried to hide how smart she was and was not proud of it. Finally her last few years in high school, she joined the band and sports teams and made friends. She blossomed into the person she really was. She is now a medical doctor and researcher at a university.
We forget to appreciate all the wonderful qualities each of us has. Instead of grumbling about what you don’t have, list the positive things in your personality. Every person is special with gifts and talents inside us just waiting to be developed during our life journey.
Download your interactive eBook at these online booksellers:
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| J.Q. Rose |
About Janet: After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction writing with her published mysteries released by BWL Publishing. With Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women she returns to her first love, writing about real people. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. Spending winters in Florida with her husband allows Janet the opportunity to enjoy the life of a snowbird. Summer finds her camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.
Connect with J.Q. Rose online
Like her on Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor
Visit her author page at J.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/
Find all of J.Q.'s books at J. Q. Rose Amazon Author Page http://tinyurl.com/aeuv4m4
Book trailer http://animoto.com/play/QcAByshul5wZ5Bob9bdiug
