"I Like Me"

I recently watched a documentary about John Candy called I Like Me, and it reminded me of how much the famous "I like me" scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles resonated with me the first time I saw it.

It reminded me of the days when I felt excluded and unwanted. It reminded me of times when I felt like people didn't like me or want to include me.

Most of those experiences happened during my childhood in elementary school, and to a lesser extent in high school. The line, "I like me," was about knowing you're a good person and recognizing that there are many good qualities within you that some people simply aren't willing to see.

The scene eventually leads to Steve Martin's character feeling bad about what he said and trying to find the good in someone he had previously dismissed as annoying. In reality, John Candy's character was someone who cared deeply about others. He was a friendly person who wasn't ashamed to be himself.

It's a powerful scene, and it remains one of my favorite movies because it shows why acceptance is so important. It reminds us that not knowing someone's full story can lead us to misjudge them.

Despite all the hardships John Candy's character faced, he remained remarkably positive. He even kept hidden the fact that his wife, whom he spoke about throughout the movie, had passed away many years earlier.

I guess, at its heart, it's a movie about accepting others. It's about realizing that we don't know everyone's full story. It's about treating people with kindness and respect because we don't know what they're going through or what they've already been through.

It's about seeing the good in people and recognizing that despite all the challenges we face each day, life is still good. It's the people around us, our friends and the people we meet along the way who make life so much better.

I'd like to think that at the end of the movie, John Candy and Steve Martin's characters remained lifelong friends.

Where I'm going with all of this is that I don't always feel accepted. I often feel like people don't like me, and sometimes it seems as though people focus on the negatives in others instead of their positives.

But no matter what faults people find in me, I'm happy with who I am.

I'm proud of everything I've survived and been through. I'm not ashamed of any part of my life. I enjoy my sense of humor, my hobbies, and the person I've become.

And just like John Candy's character, I like me.

To the people who like me too, thank you for your kindness and acceptance. At the end of the day, the people who don't understand you, don't like you, or refuse to see the good in you don't deserve too much of your attention.

Instead, value the people who value you.