Vandana Sehgal

Stand up for yourself

What Does Standing Up for Yourself means to you? Standing up for yourself means so many things. It means being confident in exploring and sharing your identity. It means standing up to the pressures of society to look and act a certain way. With friends, it may mean standing up to a bully and using "I feel...when you..." statements to express their emotions. In school, it may mean speaking up in class when you are discussing a topic you are passionate about or advocating for yourself with a teacher. At home, it may mean setting physical and emotional boundaries with others. At work, it may mean asking for the promotion you deserve. The possibilities are endless. The starting point for learning to stand up for yourself is childhood. Most of us were never taught to use our voices for the right reasons. And those who did were labelled arrogant, rude or aggressive. We were told to keep our heads down to avoid trouble. As kids, we were scared to stand for our rights, and that fear led to suffocation. As adults, we must speak up and ask to get help when tired of handling everything all alone. It's time to teach our children to stand up for themselves by being their role models. If you need help, then get my book 'Stand Up for Yourself,' Brando Tells Dory.