2 minute read

Ride or Die as Your Flawsome Self

Just flawsome.

Rewind to a couple of decades ago. I’m a 22-year-old intern at the White House and I get a call first thing in the morning that they were elevating my security clearance and I needed to report to another building immediately for a drug test. My boss, Marilyn, usually arrived much later than I did, so I didn’t

Advertisement

leave her a note figuringit wouldn’t take long.Unfortunately, therewas a queue for drugtesting that day, so itended up taking a couplehours. This happenedbefore cell phones wereprevalent so I rushedback worried she’d beupset with me. When Igot to her office, she hada stylish older womansitting with her. I meantto only poke my head in so she could see I was there, but shecalled me in. Thinking I was about to be reprimanded, I startedspeaking, “Hey Marilyn, sorry I’m late but good news, they areelevating me to a blue pass, so I had to get drug tested. Crossyour fingers!” Let me clarify quickly that this was an absolute,total joke and I was in no way unsure that I would pass a drugtest. Why I thought that remark would be funny though isanother question.

After a painful, awkward pause, Marilyn decided to ignore my little statement and said, “Tracy, I’d like to introduce you to George Stephanopoulos’s mother, Nikki.” My jaw dropped. I just made a drug joke in front of a senior White House staffer’s mother. I shook her hand and apologized for my joke. She was

As embarrassing as these stories are, and there are a hundred more, my propensity to do and say awkward things on a regular basis is what makes me, me. And while being chronically awkward is no doubt a flaw, it also causes the bonding moments I have with many people. It is what people that love me, love about me. These are the stories my friends and family laugh about and that make me memorable.

What if the way we perceived our quirks and idiosyncrasies, even our outright flaws, changed everything about how we worked on ourselves? What if you were to only prune the limbs of your personality that you've decided aren’t exactly perfect, instead of removing them altogether trying to prevent

criticism? If I were to avoid doing or saying anything awkwardor embarrassing, I would avoid doing or saying everything,period. I would retreat into the wallpaper. No, that won’t do.That would mean shutting down something that is inherentlyme, which is to go with the moment, ride or die as Tracy. Yes, Itell jokes, many of them bad, and a curtsy every now and thenmay occur…I won’t even cover dancing. It's okay.

None of this is to say that I shouldn’t work on my flaws or you,yours. Today I probably wouldn’t make a drug joke at the WhiteHouse; that was my 22-year-old self. I’ve learned a little sincethen. Instead, I strive to not embarrass anyone, to be appropriateto the situation, but still always ride or die as my flawsome self. I encourage you to do the same. bhw

This article is from: