My #BeReal guest today is Melissa Senecal.

From one short person to another… Thank you for being real with us today Melissa!

I have my reasons to #BeReal in my life. First of all I’m short (barely 5′ tall). I have taken lots of good-natured ribbing from people my whole life. Yes, I’ve heard all the jokes and laughed right along with them. What am I going to do, magically make myself taller? Nope, I’m stuck this height so what you see is what you get, even if you have to look down to see it!

Second of all I’m not going to act like someone I’m not. I’m 47 years old. It has taken me this long to get this way and I’m too old to change now. I don’t wear makeup for a couple of reasons. I’ve had bad reactions to makeup in the past and really it’s just a hassle I could do without. I’ve always had naturally curly hair and I leaned early on it was easier to let it go than to try and fight it and make it do something it didn’t want to. So the whole getting up and “doing” hair, makeup and the whole nine yards never appealed to me. I’m just a little bit lazy and I’d rather sleep in, get up, take a shower, blow dry my hair or just let it dry naturally, throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and I’m good. I’m not going to “put on airs” as they say, just to impress someone. You either like me as I am or your loss.

Don’t just be who you want to be, be who you ARE! We’re all individuals. This would be a pretty dull place if we were all alike.

What does it mean to me to be real?

For me personally it means trying to be nice. This came to my mind after a discussion at work with a couple of other co-workers. One was upset that someone had treated her bad and management expected her to be nice to this person. Those in attendance agreed with her point that why should she have to. Then she looked at me and said “Well, you’re nice to everyone!” I took that as a complement and I’m glad someone has noticed that I do, in fact, try to be nice to everyone.

Are there people I don’t see eye to eye with or don’t agree with? Sure there are. I’m human and so are they, but that doesn’t give me a reason to be ugly to them just because we are different or have a different opinion. The only exception I will make is if you hurt my kids, my grandson or anyone else in my immediate family. All bets are off and I can be ugly as all get out and I don’t care. I will be nice until it’s time not to be nice and that’s where I draw the line

You may think I see the world with rose-colored glasses. Nope, I’m as jaded and disillusioned with this world as a whole but I’m not going to let the fact that the world is going to hell in a hand-basket give me a reason to be mean and nasty to others.

What do you think most people think about you just by seeing your picture?

Hmm? Not sure. They may think plain, ordinary, short, overweight, dumpy and maybe even ugly. I saw a quote somewhere that said “What other people think of me is none of my business!” I tend to agree with that. If you like me, fine. If you don’t like me, I’m not going to let it bother me and affect the way I am. You be nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Might be simple but it’s better than complicating your life with something you can’t control.

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?

People who know me would be surprised that for all my loud and outgoing nature, I’m sometimes shy. This is a new thing for me and I can only figure that as I have gotten older, I have gotten cautious about things and people.

The world is full of enough ugly. Let’s all try to #BeReal and be nice to each other.

Melissa is a wife, mother, grandmother, sometimes blogger, non-conformist and a pirate. She realized early on she didn’t want to be like everyone else so she became herself.
Blog link http://msenecal68.wordpress.com

Facebook http://Facebook.com/gmgsenecal

Twitter Twitter.com/@SweetMelissaFla