U B U

For those of you not familiar, Stefani Germanotta goes by the professional name Lady Gaga.  She is super-talented and has a powerful singing voice.  Beyond that, she continues to challenge the status quo and use her influence for positive social change.  I LOVE LADY GAGA.

I really enjoyed "A Star Is Born" despite it being a 4th remake of a classic story, and was very happy to see Lady Gaga and her fellow songwriters acknowledged with an Oscar from the Academy for Best Original Song for "Shallow" sung with Bradley Cooper.  My favorite version here.
Moreover, I loved her Oscar acceptance speech, an excerpt of which bears repeating here:

"There's a discipline for passion, and it's not about how many times you get rejected or you fall down, or you're beaten up. It's about how many times you stand up, and are brave, and you keep going."

This is a very important message for all of us.  The photo above shows a Facebook Group set up by some of her detractors in college called "Stefani Germanotta you will never be famous".  After 9 Grammys, multiple Golden Globes, a BAFTA, a few Guiness World Records and now an Oscar I guess we can definitively say they were WRONG about her.

Nobody knows our journey, our struggles, our challenges and our victories better than ourselves.
Along the way, again and again, people will tell us we can't.  They will laugh (and sometimes even spit) in our faces and try to make us give up.  Sometimes, like with Gaga, it is even our boyfriend/girlfriend that fails to encourage us.  In the end, as Gaga says, we must stand up, be brave and keep going.

We all love the limelight, but we tend to forget how much hard work and perseverance it takes to face rejection again and again and keep believing in ourselves enough to drive forward.  Not all of us are destined for fame (and I think it is only ever a by-product, never the goal).  We are, however, destined to be WHO WE ARE, and it takes hard work and courage to become, and continue to be, that best version of ourselves.

U B U means "You Be You".  The best version of you.  100% You. 24/7/365 You.  Unapologetically, unashamedly YOU.  Be brave enough to fight for your dream, whatever it is.  Work as hard as you have to.  Other people can (and should) encourage and support us, but we are the only one 100% guaranteed to be with us every step of the way.  This means it is important to love ourselves, take care of ourselves, and be our own best friends and cheerleaders.  So many people I know are far too hard on themselves, which only makes stressful situations that much worse.

Thank you Lady Gaga for working hard.  For not giving up.  For fighting for your dream. For believing in yourself.  And for reminding us all to do the same.

Dive Into In The Deep Waters. Keep Swimming.