cheer for the underdog

I cheer for the underdog, the person that nobody seems to pay any attention to. Maybe it is because once I was the underdog (and still am at times); you know, the person nobody paid any attention to. They passed me off as the shy girl that was dumb and didn’t talk much…but the thing they didn’t know, is that even though they didn’t believe in me, I believed in myself. Down deep I know I was somebody important. Very few people ever told me that, it wasn’t until I started running that people too notice of me. I have learned to embrace this running identity, but there have been times that I would like to be identified for other things, because there is more to me than running. My close friends know this. Few people bother to get to really know me, but I don’t make it easy. I am naturally an introverted and private person; yet have become very outgoing. This was a conscious choice for me. I remember distinctly making the decision on my 13^th birthday that I didn’t want to be shy anymore. I wanted to be more outgoing and fun. Until that time, I had only let me close friends see that side of me. I have a very dry sense of humor and love to make people laugh (I was sort of a comedian – but only for my close friends). It is somewhat easy to be outgoing now, but still awkward at times because I am a people pleaser. It can be frustrating as I have learned it is impossible to please everyone, but I still like to try. I like to be happy and make people happy. I don’t like to be judged or criticized, which seems to happen when you stick your neck out there and tell-it-like-it-is. It is unbelievable to see the harsh criticism I get even now. Perhaps even you are ready to type in a critical remark to leave as a comment as you read this post. I have come to the conclusion that criticism by others usually has nothing to do with me; it has more to do with how the other person is viewing their world. Perhaps if we could see others for their potential and cheer for the underdogs, we would live in a happier world.