So, me and my mates have all gone through the life-changing process of getting married over the past few years. No, we didn’t all get married to each other, but you knew what I meant.
Anyway, as we know, part of the reception at the speeches. Usually, the parents, the best man, the maid of honor, and whoever else says a few clichéd words they heard at the last wedding they went to.
As most Dads do, my dad read his speech from paper. It was good, a speech worth listening to and a sincere welcoming of my partner into our family, but something about my mate’s Dad’s speech hit me differently.
As most Dads do, he got to the mic with his wife holding onto his arm. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and referred to it as he spoke. Normal.
He spoke of what a lovely day it had been, how proud he is of his son, and how proud he was to welcome his daughter-in-law into the family.
Again, normal.
Later that night, I was sitting around the table with my mate and our Dads. We played footy together as kids, and my mate’s Dad was our coach, so we were getting some last-minute pep talks before our lives as married adults started for real.
We were dfrunk.
Someone brought up his speech, and he immediately revealed the piece of paper he was referring to. All it said was ‘Beeee yourself,’ Nothing more.
Yes, he was referring to that scene from Aladdin where the Genie turns into a bee and encourages Aladdin to be his true self with Jasmine.
If that’s not wisdom, I don’t know what is.
In today’s world, appearance and branding are everything. We all have a brand, even if we don’t realise it. Our Instagrams, Facebook pages, and LinkedIn accounts are nothing but the us that we’re presenting to the world—the carefully curated you that you want everyone to see.
I find it gross. Not only because people on the internet don’t seem real these days, but because we are all so hyper-paranoid about what people think of us that we try to cut all fat out of our lives.
Anything that slows the reader down or looks bad on our feed because it doesn’t match the rest of our vibe is discarded and covered up. But that’s not what people are.
We’re not perfect. So don’t try to be.
Be authentic. Be vulnerable. And tell your story.
The fat is the best bit.
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