Dori Szabo: Fly To Paris Fashion AT FORTY FIVE Magazine Issue 2021 16

was exhausting—it left me feeling helpless and
disconnected from my sense of self.
It is through the lens of fear and judgment
that we make decisions to go with the crowd,
follow like a herd of sheep, not rock the boat,
lie low, play small, be accepted, and fit in a box
that doesn’t stand out from the rest. We are
taught to try and fit in. But, we are not meant
to fit in. We are meant to stand out. If we were
meant to be carbon copies of each other, we
wouldn’t have been born with our unique
features, gifts, talents, and personalities.
The perspective we choose and the lens
we use to see life will determine what we see.
Snowflakes are a great example. When we look at
the snow falling from the sky, we see snowflakes.
From a distance, they all look the same. But
when we zoom in and take a closer look, we
can see that each snowflake is unique. No two
snowflakes are the same. Each snowflake has
unique characteristics. As a child, I was fascinated
by that. Depending on your perspective, the
snowflakes look the same or completely different.
You can say the same thing about the leaves on
a tree. When we take a closer look, each one has
a uniqueness that is sometimes subtle and at
other times more obvious.
Now I am not saying all of this to make us
feel separate from each other, but to emphasize
that we each have a unique role to play here on
this Earth at this time. We are all connected at
the core of who we are and at the same time we
are meant to stand out and share our unique
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