"But nothing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great, ever came out of imitations."

"But nothing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great, ever came out of imitations. What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

More difficult because there is no zeitgeist to read, no template to follow, no mask to wear. Terrifying, actually, because it requires you to set aside what your friends expect, what your family and your co-workers demand, what your acquaintances require, to set aside the message this culture sends, through its advertising, it's entertainment, it's disdain, and it's disapproval, about how you should behave. 

[...]

'It is never too late to be what you might have been' by George Eliot "

From Being Perfect, by Anna Quindlen