They told me what a good girl does
How much is enough how much is too much
I learned to smile before I knew why
And call it confidence when I was only trying
I changed my answers to fit the room
Made myself smaller when they wanted me to
Funny how approval feels warm for a while
Then leaves you wondering if the face is still mine
So if I lose a little favor
If I don't look right on paper
Let them talk let them decide—
I don't have to live inside their eyes
I don't have to be somebody
I don't have to fit the body
Of a life that wasn't mine to choose
I can change my mind change my way
Say what I mean and let it stay
If you don't like me that's okay too
I don't have to be somebody
Just to make the whole room love me
There's a freedom in the truth:
I can be a little strange
I can grow and rearrange
And still be me when I'm through
Da-da let it move
Da-da nothing to prove
Da-da let it move
I don't have to be somebody
I used to think that being certain
Meant never showing where the doubt was hurting
Now I know a mind can turn around
Without becoming less of what it found
Some people only know the version
That never asks them for permission
But I would rather disappoint a few
Than spend my whole life performing what they knew
So if I lose a little favor
If I don't look right on paper
Let them talk let them decide—
I don't have to live inside their eyes
I don't have to be somebody
I don't have to fit the body
Of a life that wasn't mine to choose
I can change my mind change my way
Say what I mean and let it stay
If you don't like me that's okay too
I don't have to be somebody
Just to make the whole room love me
There's a freedom in the truth:
I can be a little strange
I can grow and rearrange
And still be me when I'm through
Maybe growing up is not becoming
The person everyone expected
Maybe it's the first time you can say
“I don't know yet ”
And not feel defective
I spent so long trying to be easy to understand
Now I finally understand myself
I don't have to be somebody
I don't have to fit the body
Of a life that wasn't mine to choose
I can change my mind change my way
Say what I mean and let it stay
If you don't like me that's okay too
I don't have to be somebody
Just to make the whole room love me
There's a freedom in the truth:
I can bend I can break
I can learn from my mistakes
And still be me when I'm through
No I don't have to be somebody
No I don't have to be somebody
I just have to be somebody
I can live with when I'm through