Just Plain Jane

Everyone always told Jane not to look down at her feet when she walked.
It made her seem shy they said.
It made her seem scared they said. 
It made her seem weak they said.

Everyone told Jane not to be so quiet all the time, but to talk more often.
It made her appear ashamed they said.
It made her appear antisocial they said.
It made her appear nervous they said.

Everyone told Jane to stop wearing the same plain clothes every day.
It made her look boring they said.
It made her look tasteless they said.
It made her look ugly they said.

But always when they told her to not do these things,
she replied only with a simple "No thank you."
When they insisted that she change her ways to become more accepted,
she assured them with a kind "I'm fine the way I am, thank you."
And when they asked Jane why she wanted to stay the same plain way that she was,

She told them,
"I look down at my feet when I walk because I want to watch every step that I take touch the earth.
I want to enjoy every second of what is instead of worrying about what will be.

"I stay silent so that I can listen,
and I listen so that I can learn.
I am a person of few words,
but in turn countless thoughts.
Yes, it's true, I seldom speak.
But when I do I choose my words on thought and not on impulse.

"I wear these plain clothes out of humbleness.
I don't feel the need to draw attention to my body.
Those who know me will not measure me by the appearance of my physique,
but by the weight of my mind.

"I'm not saying that you are living your life wrong because of the way you are,
just as I am not living my life wrong because of the way I am.
This is who I am.
This is the way I am happy.
So no thank you,
I'm fine,"
She always ends with a smile.

So plain Jane no longer seemed as plain or shy or weak or nervous as they had thought.
And there are very few people who will ever know that there is something special about Jane.

*Written February 5th, 2015