My Mom loved us exactly as we were, and exactly as we are now.

That's saying something, since my sister was a hot headed Emo-Goth who mellowed into an absent minded mother of two, and I was a moody, awkward nerd who grew into-well nothing. I'm still a moody, awkward nerd.

The point is, our mom loves us for us.

She firmly believed in letting us express ourselves and try on different faces as needed.

She loved us during the tom boy years, and the grunge years. She took the cargo pants and chains as easily she accepted the short skirts and 4 inch platform sneakers.

She loved us if we smoked and drank too much, or if we stayed up all night raiding dungeons on Ultima Online.

The only thing she cared about was making sure we stayed true to ourselves.

She never wanted us to have to feel the need to lie about ourselves to her, even if some of our phases were difficult to watch.

This created for us, a safe zone to grow and learn in.

It gave us the comfort of knowing that us, as us, were loved and we didn't have to be someone else to please her, and that in turn, we didn't have to be someone else to please anyone.

No one should, because, I can speak from personal experience, the skin you feel best in is yours, and hopefully you have people around you who appreciate it.