I accompanied my daughter on a field trip last week.  I got to pack lunch for us – quinoa with kale, spinach greens, watermelon radish and onions, rattlesnake green beans, spinach with garlic and sesame seeds and sprouted mung beans.  Of course I knew she loves this compilation because she cleaned her plate when it was previously made.  As the brown lunch bags were handed out to her other classmates, my daughter looked around for other “misfits” but could only find one, a girl apparently not on her BFF list.  I knew what was happening, she stared from quinoa to turkey sandwiches on white bread, I could see it unfold as she stared from the other misfit to her friends giggling as they crunched potato chips – “Mommy, I don’t like this.  Can I have a brown bag please?”

Fitting in is important for children and for the most part a lot of adults.  We seek like minded people and communities that share our same qualities and family values in order to maintain the feeling that we belong.  This can sometimes be stunting to our growth; we are not always able to focus on exploring individualism first then allowing ourselves to be nurtured among people that support our lifestyle choices whether or not it is the same as their own.  Having a holistic, healthy lifestyle does not always fit in workplace luncheons, family dinner, girls’ dinner and night out or preschool field trips but it is a choice that I am committed to because ultimately, feeling good about myself is much more powerful than appearing to fit in.  My daughter will learn that one day.  She will begin to listen to her body, her instinct and intuition, and she will not see herself as being a misfit but a happy compliment to the people around her.

Allow yourself the greatest opportunity of self-discovery, self-acceptance and self-love.