Check out this inspiring blog by Martha Kundwe. She writes about her right to be herself and about the fact that in the end we are only humans after all, so nobody has to be perfect.

Over the years I have learnt to acknowledge that I have weaknesses and strengths. I’m only human after all. Funny thing is that very few people accept theirs own. However I can recognise that just like everyone else almost every single thing in my life, at one point or the other, has worked for and against me.

I grew up being told that I have a “white” attitude towards some aspects of my life. At first I really didn’t know what that meant but the meaning behind the words was always negative.

I think it is very strange that some people label parts of my life that they see by race in my country. If you throw tantrums then you are a “white girl”, if you rebel and drink, smoke, go out and stay out for weeks at age 13 then you are acting like white people.

Because of this I have had to hide what I feel or alternatively express my self privately through writing and art. It was painful and hard for me to be sacred to share my feelings and myself with people because I was afraid of what they would think. Being scared made me fail to express myself where it was really important. I was miserable and I sought solace in the art of pretence for years.

It became hard for me to open up to people and when the time came to have relationships; because I couldn’t express myself I gave all sorts of excuses to avoid sex. Of course I was young but I already had all this information about sex and HIV and AIDS but I just avoided the topic altogether and gave all sorts of other excuses.

So my only option was to stop with the rebelling, smoking and disappearing acts and grow up, find other ways to really be heard. I took up acting and my writing started to get some notice because people could relate to what I was feeling. All of the sudden, because it was in “acceptable” writing, it was ok for me to be me. I took the chance and exploited it. I EXPOSED ME to the world.

Therefore I believe that I have the right to be vulnerable. I don’t mean that in a way that is demeaning way of course but in a way that shows me emotionally, intellectually and physically. I want to express my deepest and darkest feelings. Show people how intelligent I am. I want to show you what I am like without the make up and the perfect boots, baby doll dresses and leggings. Sometimes to show myself as a vulnerable person, as a human being is important to show what I feel and help others relate to me because I am not PERFECT and neither are YOU.