To Be Cringe Is To Be Free

To be cringe is to be free.

I heard someone say this once, and somehow, it stuck with me. I think of this statement at odd times. Like now, when it’s way past my bedtime, and I know I’ll be up to start the daily hustle in less than 4 hours, but can’t bring myself to close my eyes.

Or now when I had an entirely differently topic to write on, but found myself starting with these words instead.

To be cringe is to be free.

And I think...
What does it mean to be cringe?

So, I look within, and I see...

To be cringe is to be you.
So unapologetically.
Much without the binds societal norms shackle you with.
What is proper, what is aesthetic, what will please the eye.

You think less of these and more of how happy you can be.
The fulfilment in getting atop a table, and breaking into a dance.
Singing at the top of your voice, mindless that you are no Celine Dion.
An enthusiastic greeting to all you see.
An overly animated laugh.
Not in selfishness or a yearning for attention.
But in your rawest, deepest thoughts, you are simply being you.
Authentic and true.

And as I ponder on these, I realize again.
That this, in its entirety, is what it means to be free.
Understanding that in a world always displeased.
And wagging tongues that forever will abound.
The least you owe yourself is liberation.
The secret to happiness to you now revealed.
Loving yourself so earnestly and wholesomely...
Ridding your mind of the never-ending urge to satisfy the world’s limitless expectations.
Or give in to her eternal demands.

So, I say to you. To me. And to me, especially.
If all of this and more forever will ensue,
Why not choose to be free?
In totality?
Verily, I say unto thee...
To be cringe is to be free.
To be you, without expectation, devoid of validation.
Just you. Just free.

Jhymi🖤

_{Image is mine.}