I Wanted to Be Beth, But I Was Always Jo

When I first read Little women, I wanted so much to be Beth, she was sweet, gentle, loving everybody loved Beth. But as my life went on, I realised I wasn’t a Beth.

My twin sister she was the Beth. She was the one, who would apologise when my competitive streak got to much on the sporting field.

Inside I think we all strive to be Beth she is the peacekeeper, she is the one everyone loves, the one everyone remembers. She is the Heart of the Family. She is the one everyone reaches out to, the one everyone remembers.

But very quickly as a teenager I realised something. I was never going to be a Beth.

I am not always the peacekeeper, sometimes I just have to speak my mind.

I am not always quiet.

I am ambitious,

I am always striving, always motivated to move forward.

I am tenacious, relentless, others might call it stubbornness, but I prefer tenacious. It sounds more positive.

I have opinions, beliefs that I will not back down from.

I am creative, a conversation might lead to a book idea, a blog post, or me daydreaming about something.

That’s not Beth. That’s Jo And being a Jo is Ok.

Jo is brave, passionate, fiercely loyal.

She doesn’t change herself to fit into society’s expectations of her. She puts her heart into everything she does, she is vulnerable, something that I aim to be with my writing.

Jo reminds us sometimes being bold in your convictions is Brave.

These days I have made peace with the fact I am not a Beth, but a Jo.