Unbecoming

I forgot when exactly it started, but there is a teacher at my middle school who decorates the staff bathrooms at the start of each month. I'm not sure if she just does the ladies' room, or if she sneaks into the men's' as well, but there is a new inspirational quote on the inside of the stall doors every month, affixed with festive washi tape. 

I don't always love them, because sometimes toxic positivity sneaks its way in masquerading as "inspirational," and sometimes the December ones forget that not everybody celebrates Christmas, but overall they are a lift to the day. 

I absolutely love the one that is on the lefthand stall right now. I think about it every time I go to pee, which, as a teacher, is maybe twice a day. I meant to take a picture today, but I forgot. So, here it is (emphasis mine): 

"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. 

Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't you." 

- Paulo Coelho

Oooooooh. Isn't that a good one? I love that. The older I get, the less beholden I feel to the idea of becoming something new, and more attracted I am to unbecoming and being more authentically ME. I have spent a lot of time being someone else to fit in or meet an arbitrary milestone in my life. How freeing is it to flip things and to think, "you know what? I think I will unbecome until I am truly, unapologetically, authentically me." 

The full quote, when I looked it up because I don't bring my phone into the staff bathroom, is: 

"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place." (also Paulo Coelho)

I do struggle a bit with the phrase "meant to be" even in this context, so I am partial to what's printed on the slip of paper taped to the inside of the bathroom stall. 

Here's to unbecoming more in 2025.