I am not afraid! In the past, voices in my head would stop me from having fun dressing up as a character, doing cosplay, or going to costume parties. The voices were from the bullies I faced growing up in a small town. The toxic push of conformity was deeply ingrained in me for so much of my life. When I came out and began my transition over 6 years ago, I also began the long process of silencing those voices in my head. “Just Be You” became my mantra. It took many moments of courage to step out into the world as myself, to grow in confidence and to replace that deep fear of being judged with a bold ability to say with no reservation “This is Me!” – Last night I did an “Anime Girl Ari” cosplay stream that I had promised to my viewers back when I was raising money for my BFF (who had been financially affected by Covid). Before I went live, I felt a moment of embarrassment and fear of being judged for my slightly over the top cutesy outfit. Thankfully, I was able to get past the soft nerves. The truth is that I flipping love being able project this level of adorable cuteness. I can finally say with absolute certainty that I have beaten the bullies and this who judge and I am finally free to just be me without fear, without reservation, and with only joy in my heart for who I am ❤ 🌈😚 #adorableari #decadeofari #devilishangel #justbeyou #thisisme #maidenariana #cosplay #positivity #animestyle #fuschiagirl #curlyhair #hairringlets #ringletcurls #transvengers #lgbt #twitchaffiliate #kawaiiaesthetic #kawaiistyle
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