I'm A Duff: Taryn Bashford

Before I share Taryn's story with you I want to thank her for taking the time to write and share her story. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know her and I'm so thankful for her time.
Enjoy!!

"It seems everyone at high school had a clique to fit into—not me. I skirted around the edges of cliques because I didn’t fit into any of them. As I wore glasses, I couldn’t possibly be in the popular clique—in those days glasses were very unflattering, and I was simply known as four eyes. I did notice if you complimented a ‘popular’ girl’s shoes or bag, they’d grace you with a huge smile and two seconds-worth of attention, so I learnt a lesson there. But I was too stubborn to follow the social rules and didn’t try that again.

I was good at school work, and loved to read and write, in fact I lost myself in study (still a workaholic today) and so might have been in the ‘smart kid’ clique, but I was too sporty to fit there. I represented my school in athletics, swimming, field hockey, badminton, and basketball. I was mainly a 400m runner and later in my teens, trained for the Olympics (I didn’t make it and went to college instead).
Then there’s the music clique—I played piano, clarinet and violin. But I didn’t like pop music, so no fit there either.

Recently, I completed the Pottermore Sorting Hat test and discovered I am a Ravenclaw. This made me laugh as it’s the house I’m least familiar with, but one of the traits is a love of individuality. So maybe that’s it—I skirted the cliques because I was just being all the different sides of ME.

I highly recommend this route. Don’t be anyone’s DUFF, but you don’t have to ‘fit’ in a group either. Instead find your own fit and get comfortable in your own body. And most of all, choose how you react to people—just as you don’t like everyone you meet, not everyone will like you. AND THAT’S OKAY!

If you’d like a free downloadable ebook about changing your ‘I’m Not Good Enough’ mindset in quick easy steps, it’s a click away on www.tarynbashford.com"