The Story of Awkward

by R.K. Ryals

“Great endowments often announce themselves in youth in the form of singularity and awkwardness.” ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~

“It isn’t about being awkward. It’s about not being ashamed to be awkward. It’s about embracing what makes us different. Perfection and Stereotype are threats to that.”

“Love isn’t roses. It’s those little square caramels and a root beer from the gas station because he knows that’s your favorite snack. It’s watching a musical with you without groaning. It’s handing you your glasses at night because he knows you’re too blind to find your way to the bathroom without them. Love is awkward.”

There’s nothing worse than having someone you’ve villainized admit he was wrong. There’s nothing worse than admitting someone’s words had done more than tear you down, they’d made you angry enough to fight back. There’s nothing worse than having to forgive someone whose words gave you strength.

“Remember, the way we perceive ourselves is often nothing like what we really are,”

It was what bullies did … they harassed and goaded those weaker than themselves, but ran in fear when faced with true danger. True courage belonged to the weak.

“Awkward has been dying for a long time now, destroyed by the world’s attempt to be perfect. No one wants to be awkward. If people can’t change themselves, then they pay to have themselves changed.”

Give them a taste of perfection, and they’ll never be able to stop. No matter how much a person changes, there will always be something he feels he needs to improve. It’s an addiction.”

Her heart had been broken. Love could be blind and unforgiving. It often made us feel like we had to change in order to be loved.

If Dash truly loves you, then it only makes your life fuller, but if he doesn’t, it doesn’t make your life less rich.”

Even grown men have scared children inside of them.

the true test isn’t what we have the courage to fight. It’s what we have the courage to admit. True courage is admitting when you’re vulnerable.

love doesn’t always come full of sweet joy, but tainted with regret.”

The bullying, the struggle with my weight, my father’s yells, and my mother’s indifference … they’d all made me into the person I was now. Rather than weakening me, they had made me stronger.

In the real world romance didn’t work the same way it did in fairytales. There wasn’t love at first sight. There wasn’t a prince who rode off into the sunset with you, and then spent the rest of your lives frozen in marital bliss with no arguments. There were past relationships, college, jobs, war, distance ...

In the real world, life often interfered. We had our whole lives in front of us and there were no guarantees.

I’d learned that too many people thought they had to change to be loved. That they had to be like everyone else to belong. Perfection depended on losing weight, on having sex when everyone else did, on parental approval, and on so many things that didn’t matter.

“Because avoiding the things that hurt us doesn’t fix us,” I told her. “There’s only so long you can hide from life.

Worry about being enough for you. In the end, that’s what counts.

“Some awkwardness is more than skin deep. Just because the outside of something looks pretty, doesn’t mean the inside isn’t a mess.”

“True courage isn’t about being brave. It’s about being real. It’s about being able to admit our weaknesses so that we can turn them into strengths.”

“Everyone belongs somewhere. Embrace what makes you awkward.

Princes should never be perfect. They should have nightmares. They should be picky eaters and made queasy by the sight of blood. They should be blunt and occasionally a little arrogant. They should be loyal and determined. Most of all, they should be awkward and real.

a princess doesn’t always need a prince. She doesn’t always need saving.”

There comes a time when everyone must learn to embrace who they are. For some, it takes longer than others.

In truth, it is evil beauty that is most devastating. For beauty isn’t always good and ugliness isn’t always bad. It is how we perceive ourselves that matters. True courage isn’t about being brave. True beauty isn’t about being beautiful. True courage is about being real. True beauty is about being happy.

The world will always be full of obstacles. It will always be full of pain and awkwardness.