perfection.

they say that nobody is perfect. then they tell you practice makes perfect. i wish they'd make up their minds.
-churchill

why is it that everyone seems to be striving to be something else? to be better, more, a different person entirely. is anyone actually happy with who they are right now? i know i'm not. i know there are a million ways i could be a better, happier, prettier, more successful person. but why do we feel the need to strive for perfection - something we usually see in others, but very rarely see in ourselves?

most people only love you for who you pretend to be. to keep their love, you keep pretending, and you keep performing. you get locked into an image; you get locked into an act. but real love means letting a person be who he really is. when others demand that we become the people they want us to be, they force us to destroy the person we really are. it's a subtle kind of murder, and the most loving parents and relatives commit this murder daily, with smiles on their faces.
-jim morrison

well, you know what? i'm tired of trying to be something, failing, and then being disappointed in myself. it only leads to the self-loathing thing i do which is really starting to get on my nerves.

the thing that is really hard
and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect
and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
-anna quindlen