“I'm gonna make a change For once in my life...It's gonna feel real good... Gonna make a difference Gonna make it right.”

My attention was glued to these lines of Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror.” It awakened me into an epiphany to strive in being real and to break through the mold I forced myself to fit in before. In this very decisive stage, I am like a caterpillar undergoing the last stages of metamorphosis developing inside a cocoon subsequently, ready to spread its wings with lovely hues.

Make a difference! That is according to Michael Jackson in his song as mentioned earlier. As the chorus goes, “I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways and no message could have been any clearer, if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.”

It reminds us all that change actually starts within ourselves. We should be the prime movers who will bring what the world really is vying, “change for the better”. Live your life consistently with the highest values and aspirations. Without any constraints and away from the bondage of insecurities you will surely and fully convey who and what you are, thus emanating the aura to the world for it to brighten.

Let us read and discover how some celebrities came out to their hefty shell in their long years of hiding their real identity. Let this be an inspiration to all that throwing away your masks publicly is not humiliating to the eyes of the entire human race; instead it serves as a reminder, that we must be true to ourselves and to others in the process.

• Are you familiar with Ellen DeGeneres? She is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. According to Wikipedia.org, she was the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on television. In addition to that, in an interview with Time Magazine in an article at cnn.com, she always thought that she could keep her personal life separate from her professional life. She is now completely comfortable with herself and she does not have to be fearful about those negativities that are distorting her career because she has in herself the control of it. She was also the popularly known icon for women who “came out from the closet.” Her career fast-tracked towards its highest peak of success after she came public about her preferences. This is only a fraction of the proof that we can still take hold of success upon our hands especially after we go “out” however the world interprets it. Concealing who you really are never altered the truth that we can easily reach our goals if we are genuine in contrary to those people who fits themselves in molds the society crafted as to be “normal”.

• Moreover, our very own international pop star Charice Pempengco was also candid in expressing her genuine color in the American talk show, Oprah. She told Oprah Winfrey that basically, her soul is male but Charice emphasized that she may change her hair and sense of style she will not literally “change” to the extent that she will change everything like surgically change any other body part. Charice changed her long shiny black hair into a rocking short, blonde hair and a more stereotypically masculine style to signify that she changed. But all of these were not a hindrance for her in broadening the scope of her career in the music industry; instead, these served as the source of her strength in the long run, through the course of life.

• Furthermore, Fifth Pagotan, also admitted being bisexual during his stay on the reality show of ABS-CBN, "Pinoy Big Brother.” According to abs-cbnnews.com, Fifth said he was concerned that revealing his sexuality would prevent him from achieving his goals, or that it would negatively affect whatever level of success he now has in his preferred career. In spite of his concerns, Fifth decided to share his sexual orientation outright. This is all about acceptance in knowing oneself though he knew that he may be presumably misjudged. He is a testament to the level of value and open-mindedness of the LGBT community even with the prejudicial society we are in.

The abovementioned people are just some of the best examples of people who change for the better. Live like a butterfly which originated from the very beginning as egg, grew eagerly to a caterpillar and then matured to a bold and empowered adult butterfly. You don’t need to shed your blueprint. If only everyone knew how to accept themselves, the world could have benn the best place to live in.

These people are living testaments that most successful people in life dared to overtly express themselves and in turn, broadened their perception and opportunities accessible to anyone.  As what Lady Gaga said in her song “Born This Way,” always remember that you are beautiful in your own way because God makes no mistakes and you’re in the right track because you are born this way. She also added in her song that we should not hide ourselves in regret instead; we must love ourselves whether life’s disabilities and shortcomings tease us.

Lastly, it is also emphasized in her song that no matter who you are whether gay, straight or bi, lesbian or transgender, you are born to survive.

I challenge you to look directly in the mirror and say gallantly that “This is me and this is real” and dare to be something more in the process.

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