Standing Tall in Your Differences

Come, come sit with me. Grab a drink and pull up a chair.

I want to talk about something today that most of us experience growing up, but we don’t always talk about out loud.

It’s been sitting on my chest for a couple of weeks now, and it took me a little while to find the words.

Truth is… I’m not even sure what to call it.

My whole life I’ve been made fun of — whether it was my looks, my hair, the way I speak, or even the way I laugh.

Take a moment and imagine that.
Being made fun of just for being you.

Sometimes it wasn’t meant to be cruel. Sometimes it was just teasing. And I want to be clear — the people who truly love me know the difference between playful teasing and words meant to hurt.

But when you hear certain things often enough growing up, they can still leave a mark.

For a long time I asked myself why. I still don’t really have the answer.

But someone once told me something that stayed with me.

When people make fun of your differences, it often says more about their own insecurities than it does about you.

But here’s the thing.

With all that teasing and hurt, I could have grown into a very mean person. I could have chosen bitterness.

But somehow, I didn’t.

Instead, I chose to keep seeing love — even through the hurt. And there was a lot of hurt.

A friend once told me that I wear rose-colored glasses. And maybe I do.

But I would rather see the world that way than walk through life filled with hate.

You might be wondering where I’m going with this.

The truth is, the things that happen in our past shape who we become and how we grow. But at some point, we all face a choice.

We can stay stuck in the hurt…
or we can choose to move beyond it.

I was lucky in one very important way.

No matter what happened outside my home, there was always love inside it.

And that love made all the difference.

Over the years I realized something important about being different…

I love it.

It sets me apart from everyone else — but in the best possible way.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a little shy. But that laugh I used to get made fun of for? The one people teased me about for years?

That same laugh brings joy to a lot of people today.

And honestly, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

It took time to get here, but today I can honestly say something I once struggled with…

I truly love the person I am today.

And now…
you get to know her too.

I remember one moment very clearly.

I was out one day with friends and their partners. We were all sitting together, talking and laughing, and something struck me as funny.

So I laughed.

Big. Loud. The way I always do.

One of the men looked at me and said, “You laugh too loud. It’s embarrassing… and it’s not very ladylike.”

Did I feel shame in that moment?

Of course I did.

For a second, I actually tried to laugh more quietly… to make myself smaller.

But that didn’t last very long.

Because the truth is, I love laughing.
Big. Loud. From my whole chest.

And I realized something important that day.

I wasn’t the problem.

My joy just didn’t fit inside someone else’s idea of how a woman should behave.

About five years later, I had a moment that made me see my laugh in a completely different way.

I was out at a restaurant with two friends. We were chatting and I started telling a story. One of my friends was absolutely killing herself laughing, while the other kept saying, “Shhh… shhh…” because honestly, we were laughing pretty loudly.

My friend’s face turned so red from laughing that it only made the two of us laugh even harder.

At some point, the table next to us started laughing too.

One of them finally looked over and said, “We don’t even know what you’re laughing about, but we love your laugh so we thought we’d join in.”

Even the waitress came over smiling and said we were clearly having too much fun.

And in that moment, something really hit me.

The very laugh someone once told me was embarrassing…
was the same laugh that had an entire section of a restaurant smiling.

I know it hurts to be teased just for being yourself.

Believe me, I understand that feeling.

But what I want to say to you today is this — stand tall in your differences.

Not everyone is going to like it. And that’s okay.

As long as you love who you are and take pride in what makes you different, that is what truly matters.

So if someone has ever made you feel small for simply being yourself, remember this:

The right people won’t ask you to shrink.

They will laugh with you, stand beside you, and celebrate the things that make you unique.

And those are the people worth keeping in your life.

And as for me?

I’ll keep laughing.
Big. Loud. And completely myself.

✨ Whisper: The things that once made you feel different may one day become the very things that bring joy to the people who truly see you.

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Disclaimer: Love and Life with Lisa is a safe, judgment-free space for romance readers and story lovers. This blog is intended for readers 18+. I share my personal journey honestly, and occasionally include affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this space where all kinds of stories are welcome.