And this above all, to thine own self be true.
And it must follow as night the day,
thou canst not be false to any man.
–Shakespeare

When I first got into recovery, someone with a lot of time came up to me and said the first line of that stanza to me. I started crying because I knew that was at the core of my problems, and more importantly - that I had no idea how to be true to myself. Over the years, through lots of step work, meetings, and calls to sponsors, I learned this valuable life skill. I’m not perfect at practicing this - after all, I lived my whole life until 5 years ago doing it differently - but the strides I’ve made are immeasurable and in direct proportion to the serenity and contentment that embraces my life today.

I’ve got this ring that was given to me by a fellow compulsive overeater a couple of years ago. I hold it near and dear to me and wear it often. It symbolizes and sums up just about everything about how I choose to live my life today. I’m no longer a slave to the company I keep or my environment. I no longer have to be a social chameleon who changes to fit in with whatever crowd I’m in. Today I’m free to just be me and revel in the fact that I’m my own unique human being.

I truly believe that always trying to fit in, always being worried about what others think about me and molding myself accordingly damaged my soul. It was a cause of my soul sickness, and the reason I was dying a little death a hundred times over every day. No wonder I wanted to numb out with food, drugs, and alcohol! What a blessing it is to live so differently today. And what a gift I give to others by being true to myself - they get the real, authentic me, not some watered-down cookie-cutter version.