The need to express ourselves is not a modern-day cause of social media and digital narcissism, as some might say. It has been a mainstay of culture since time immemorial, from elden tribes tattooing their skin to modern-day cosmetic surgery – the whole gamut of who we feel ourselves to be and how we choose to express that is essential to consider.
While this can sometimes become quite harmful, from intensive cosmetic surgeries booked out of compulsion to the fraction of fervent bodybuilders who suffer from body dysmorphia, it’s important to first think of self-expression in terms of how healthy your practice is. With tattoos, for example, getting rid what’s already on the body isn’t that simple – that is, not everyone can just visit Gold Coast tattoo removal.
But for some people, self-expression is something they have given little thought to – or at least, they haven’t quite engaged with it through their fashion and style, or however see them on the surface. In this post, we’ll discuss how you can express just who it is you really are, why it matters, and a few techniques for achieving just that.
Art & Hobbies
Art is the ultimate form of self-expression, and transmits from culture to culture perhaps more readily than any fashion or style can. From paintings to photography to the absolute pinnacle of cross-cultural pollination – music – it’s essential to consider how our art and hobbies can showcase who we are, what we think, and what we’re struggling with.
It might be that engaging in some form of art or creative hobby can help you get that need to express yourself off your shoulders. For instance, why not pick up the guitar, or the violin, or an instrument you feel is worth learning? Perhaps a little time taking up lessons and trying your best can help you relieve stress, learn songs you love, and share that with other people.It’s hard to feel another sense of self-expression quite as powerful as that.
Fashion & Style
It’s important to consider how you dress and what that means for you. If the meaning is “I wish to be comfortable,” that’s good enough of course. No one would blame a young mother for not dressing up in her absolute best every single day, for instance, even though she would no doubt scrub up well and look classy when she wanted to.
The small elements of style can serve our sense of self-expression quite well, however. For instance, wearing gold body jewellery, or trying a new tattoo you’ve been thinking about getting for a year, or simply opting to be the kind of person who wears nice new cardigans quite often, the more you can express who you are now, the better you feel and the more connected to yourself you become. A good way of achieving this is to focus on what you need now, and to make slight seasonal adjustments to your wardrobe. Even something as simple as dyeing your hair can be a nice seasonal shift.
Connect With A Community That Helps You Speak
It’s important to note that sometimes, self-expression can be limited by others. Those who had strict upbringings no doubt try to break free from those chains as they grow older, just so they can feel freer, for instance.
If your friendship group does little to listen to you and support you, then it might be finding a social arrangement where this is possible is worthwhile. Friends don’t have to understand every single hobby of yours or every taste you have, but it’s healthy to make sure you have some contacts you can express yourself next to. That might involve joining or starting a club, getting involved on forums online, or creating your own content.
It also means weeding out those who would rather suppress you or mock you just for expressing yourself in a way that you deem appropriate and healthy.
Trust Yourself
Too often we can feel that we might not have anything to say, perhaps because we feel less educated or less insightful than others. Sure, it might not be the healthiest idea to weigh into every single political argument with your opinion if you’re not sure what you’re talking about, of course, but what about painting, or writing a novel, or simply standing up for your corner at work?
You deserve a voice, and using that from time to time can help it stop decaying and feeling invisible to you. Don’t forget that, because ultimately you’re going to be the custodian of that self-expression.
With this advice, we hope you can express who you really are, in many ways such as personally, creatively, and stylistically.
