Ugly Betty may be over, but her spirit lives on!

Courtesy of ABC.com

A few months have passed since the last episode of the Ugly Betty series but I can't help but think about our beloved Betty. We watched her say her goodbyes as she made the leap from Queens to London to follow her dreams and I can't help but wonder when the last time I checked in with my own inner "Ugly Betty"? Let's face it. Despite the different paths we've traveled, some part of us can relate to her angst and the stark juxtaposition she is constantly faced with being who she is and challenged to find symmetry with her physical environment. And yet, she always finds a way to prevail in her own spunky unconventional way.

We all have defining moments in life. One of my earlier moments happened in the fourth grade. I had recently moved from Texas to California with my family with hopes of finding gold…okay, not gold-more like silicon like Silicon Valley. To say that I experienced some growing pains adjusting to our new life would be a huge understatement. While the popular girls at my school sported the latest LA Gear sneakers with matching jean jackets, I was shopping at only God knows where because we didn’t have the same financial means to be able to outfit me with the latest fashions to hit the blacktop. One of my most infamous outfits was a pair hot pink coolats and a white tee printed with one huge happy face strewn across from sleeve to sleeve in matching hot pink. While I was proud of my pink outfit, the popular girls at school were quick to call me names and laugh at my "screaming pregnant face" t-shirt. I had never felt so humiliated and hurt by their attitude towards me. They made sure I knew that I was different and I should be treated as such. But even despite the name calling, I continued rocking out in hot pink and still loved wearing my t-shirt, “screaming pregnant face” and all.

The point of the story is this: Betty taught us that sometimes bucking the trend can be a good thing. Conformity is sometimes necessary but more often than not, we lose our ability to think for ourselves and embrace our individuality when we allow ourselves to be unrealistically pressured into how we should look and act to the point where we literally don't recognize ourselves in the mirror (a la Heidi from The Hills). In a day and age when everyone claims to revel in being an individual when in reality everyone goes to the same plastic surgeon, drives the same luxury car, and carries only designer bags (or even willing to carry fakes just to fit in), you have to stop and ask yourself, am I really being true to myself? If I could share my truth, what would I say? What would Betty say about this?

My guess is Betty would say, look beyond what you can buy that will make you happy. Because once you've bought everything that can be bought, changed, rearranged, and upgraded, if you haven't spent a single second to stop and taken a deep dive into your soul, you will never be happy. The key to happiness can be very simple. Know what you're passionate about and know what you're good at. If you can marry what you're passionate about and what you're good at and do it for a cause larger than yourself, you have found happiness. This kind of happiness isn't momentary or fleeting like the superficial conformity we are all familiar with. True happiness is unique, sacred, and abundant and harmonious. Betty knew this and followed her heart all the way to London. What deep dive into your soul do you need to do in order to get to your destination?