Self-Expression

Part of self-expression is the choices I make about my clothes, make-up, hairstyle and that I don’t have to be like everyone else. I can celebrate my style. Part of my self-expression also is the things I choose to do, especially things I love like spend time with kids or go hiking or recycle because I care about the environment. Self-expression lets people see your spirit, and is also a great experiment and adventure. You can try all kinds of ways to express yourself.

Transcript

Hey everyone,

I'm Stacey.

And I'm Barry.

And we are here for you.

We support you and we are excited to spend time with you.

I brought something special today.

I actually have my water bottle with me today and it's a Nalgene bottle which is kind of a big water bottle.

And what I love about this water bottle is that I have found different stickers throughout time that really say something about me.

And I like to put those stickers onto my water bottle.

So if you looked at my water bottle you would see some sea otters.

That's my favorite animal.

You would see some words like peace and diversity because those are things that are important to me.

I have a Grand Lake sticker here.

That is one of my very favorite places.

So just by looking at this water bottle you would know some things about me.

Yeah,

And you express yourself through the stuff that's on your water bottle.

I do express myself through my water bottle.

So for me,

One of the things I love to do is write songs.

And I get to express myself in my songs and people get to know me some by listening to my songs.

One of the things I always love when we have camps is writing songs with kids because it's something that they're really good at.

So I challenge you to write some songs and just write a song about something that is important to you or that has meaning for you or that's fun for you.

It's a great way to express yourself.

I love your songs,

Barry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right,

So this idea of self-expression,

Right,

Showing who you are with how you are showing up in the world and what that might look like.

For some people that's about their style,

Right,

How I choose to wear my hair or a hat that I might have or the clothes that I choose to wear.

I encourage you and I really celebrate your style.

And the best part of that is everybody has their own style.

So you can choose to dress a certain way or,

You know,

Appear a certain way and somebody else can choose an entirely different way.

And that is OK.

Yeah,

Just being comfortable with the style that you have and with the person that you are and the way that you express is such a such a great way to to bring yourself to the world.

You know,

To just be comfortable.

This is this is who I am.

And and I'm OK with that.

And I like myself the way that I am.

And one of the things that we we've been talking about,

Too,

Is art and how we can express through art,

Through music and through painting and through writing and through singing and who we are.

Our spirit,

The deeper part of ourselves comes through in our art.

People can see who we are and they can feel who we are,

Too.

I love that.

I think the arts are especially great way that we can express our thoughts and ideas.

Another way that you can really express yourself is through your actions.

I love nature.

So I go out and I do hiking and I spend time in nature.

So that's how I'm expressing my love of nature.

Even something as simple as I like to recycle.

Right.

And I take my recycling down to the curb and I make sure I recycle in the places that I am.

I'm really expressing my love of the environment when I recycle.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think finding the things that we love to do and the ways that we love to express is is a really important thing.

You know,

As we're going to school,

We get to try lots of different things and some things we like better than others.

But then when we find some things that really connect with us,

You know,

Those are the things to practice and those are the things to really enjoy.

And it really helps our spirit shine and helps us stay connected with the truth of who we are.

I love that.

I think self-expression is a great adventure.

Right.

Because you can experiment with all kinds of different ways of expressing your thoughts and ideas,

Of deciding what your style is and the things that you want to do.

Yeah.

Definitely.

All right.

We actually have an affirmation for you today.

I express my true nature.

I express my true nature.

I express my true nature.

I express my true nature.

Awesome.

All right.

We're going to leave you with the challenge to express yourself this week.

Find those ways that you can celebrate your style and express your thoughts and ideas.

And have fun doing it.

That's right.

We'll see you soon.