Nancy N. Rue - Everybody Tells Me to Be Myself but I Dont Know Who I Am: Building Your Self-Esteem

Other books in the growing Faithgirlz! library

The Faithgirlz! Bible

NIV Faithgirlz! Backpack Bible

My Faithgirlz! Journal

The Sophie Series

Sophies World (Book One)

Sophies Secret (Book Two)

Sophie Under Pressure (Book Three)

Sophie Steps Up (Book Four)

Sophies First Dance (Book Five)

Sophies Stormy Summer (Book Six)

Sophies Friendship Fiasco (Book Seven)

Sophie and the New Girl (Book Eight)

Sophie Flakes Out (Book Nine)

Sophie Loves Jimmy (Book Ten)

Sophies Drama (Book Eleven)

Sophie Gets Real (Book Tweleve)

Nonfiction

The Skin You're In: Discovering True Beauty

Girl Politics

Body Talk

No Boys Allowed: Devotions for Girls

Girlz Rock: Devotions for You

Chick Chat: More Devotions for Girls

Shine On, Girl!: Devotions to Make You Sparkle

Check out www.faithgirlz.com

ZONDERKIDZ

Everybody Tells Me to Be Myself but I Dont Know Who I Am

Copyright 2007 by Nancy Rue

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ePub Edition April 2016: ISBN 978-0-310-75520-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rue, Nancy N.

Everybody tells me to be myself, but I don't know who I am / by Nancy Rue.

p. cm. (Faithgirlz!)

ISBN 978-0-310-71295-4 (softcover)

1. Girls Religious life Juvenile literature. 2. Self-esteem in children Religious aspects Christianity Juvenile literature. I. Title.

BV4551.3.R836 2007

248.8'33 dc22

2007002541

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Barbara Scott

Interior design: Sherri L. Hoffman

Art direction and cover design: Merit Kathan

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 /DCI/ 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Contents

M olly Ann McPherson trailed her fingers over the contents of her brand-new suitcase:

A stack of neatly folded and very cool shorts.

Another pile of matching tops, the cutest ever.

A pink zipper bag with her own bottles of everything from shampoo to orange-flavored mouthwash.

And the perfect stationery shaped like flip-flops so she could write home every day.

Her summer dream was packed in that suitcase. But suddenly Molly shivered in a blast of cold fear.

I dont think I want to go to camp, Mom, she said.

Mollys mother looked up at her over the swimsuit from which she was removing the tags. What? she said. All Ive heard from you for the last month is how much camp is going to rock.

But I wont know anybody there, Molly said. What if everybody thinks Im a loser? What if I dont make any friends? What if I get left out of everything?

Mollys mom shook her head. Dont be silly, Molly, she said. Just be yourself and youll be fine.

When her mom left to find the sunscreen, Molly stared miserably at the suitcase full of coolness shed been so excited about.

Be myself? she thought. Whos Myself?

Was she the Molly who was careful to do only what the really popular kids did?

Was she the Molly who always agreed with her friends about every little thing?

Was she the girl who secretly dreamed of being a famous lawyer, or the one who took piano lessons because her mom did when she was a kid, or the one who refused to cry in front of anybody, no matter how sad she was?

Molly slumped on her elbows onto her perfect stacks of camp clothes.

How am I supposed to be myself, she wailed, when I dont even know who I am?

now what?

Poor Molly is having a major case of homesickness, and she hasnt even left her house yet. But theres something else going on too, something that can strike any of us, whether were thousands of miles from our family or sitting in our own bedroom. Its an attack of the Who Am Is? and it can be pretty scary.

The good news is that this book is here to help you

figure out who you really-deep-down-inside are, and

be that person no matter who youre with.

Its like a vaccine against future attacks.

Right now we have our Molly, suffering the worst case of the Who Am Is? ever. If you were there in the room with Molly and her suitcase, what would you say to her? Would you give her advice? Or would you be absolutely clueless what to say because you feel that same way... a lot?

Whatever you want to tell Molly, write it in the space below. There are no right or wrong answers, so be honest. If, as you read the rest of this book, you discover something that makes you change your mind about how to encourage Molly, youll have a chance to talk to her again in the very last chapter.

Dear Molly...

[Your Notes]

Heres the Deal

How many times have you heard grown-ups say, Just be yourself? Like thats supposed to prepare you for a situation where you dont know anybody, or you dont know what youre supposed to do, or you have that feeling that you are not going to fit in at all.

In the first place, what do they mean by be yourself? Theyre talking about a thing called authenticity. When youre authentic,

youre completely honest;

you dont pretend to be rich, or way smart about something, or totally into horses (or whatever everybody else is into) when youre not;

you dont copy the way other kids dress or talk or laugh if it doesnt feel natural to you;

you go after the things youre interested in even if nobody else does; and