“And when they say, ‘Hey, that doesn’t fit into our box for you,’ we say, ‘Well, I ain’t in no box. Don’t try to put me in one.'”
-Lauryn Hill

How big is yours, that box you carry around?

The one with the frame that is the size you have created for yourself.

To you, this is the human standard. If it doesn’t fit perfectly, it is wrong or it is flawed. You measure every person this way: their physical appearance, their personal characteristics and every other defining factor.

If they are too small, you rattle it around your box until it is beaten senseless because you think you are superior. If they are too big, you try your best to squeeze it into a space it obviously cannot fit, leaving out parts of the whole.

Well, let’s face it. There are a very limited number of people who will perfectly fit into your box. So why even have one?

Somewhere along the line, society set a standard. And that is the box we all try to fit into. Figuratively, we fit by flocking with the trends. Literally, we fit by getting as skinny as possibly so we can hike our skirts with pride or flex our abs with confidence.

I was not born to be contained. You couldn’t even if you tried. I am not even the same size everyday.

Some days, I yearn to promote change on this earth, an incomprehensible size for you to fit in any of your social constructs. Other days, you can take my laziness and squeeze it into your restrictive box if you want. Or you could just let me be me.

You are not going to like 100 percent of me. You are not going to accept 100 percent of yourself. But the reality is, we are One. You cannot take percentages of a person and stick them into a pre-constructed container. Whether they are big or small, they should be embraced as whole. How are you going to put a label on something when you cannot even comprehend what that thing is?

And that is the beauty of it. There is no need for this rhetorical box. A step outside of it leads to growth and the ability to change into shapes never seen before.

We were born to be our own individual standard. Don’t be held hostage to the confines of some box.

Cardboard free,

Corey