By Jaycie Cash

I went out of town on business this weekend and ended up eating dinner Saturday night at a lovely seafood restaurant. The food was fantastic, but that wasn’t the favorite part of the dinner for any of the four us at our table. We had an adorably outlandish waiter (a self-described “flamer”) with a name that rhymes with Jason. When a male diner at the table complimented “Jason” on his knowledge of how the food was prepared, saying it made him stand apart from most waiters and that he (Jason) was, therefore, a real stud, Jason was quick to say he would prefer being called a mare.

Jason nicknamed one of my fellow diners Petunia (luckily, it was a woman), we were all darlin’ and he not only gave us impeccable service, he told us exactly what we should order, especially when it came to dessert. In fact, he refused to honor one woman’s request for Baked Alaska, telling her she’d hate it, and instead brought the best key lime pie any of us had ever eaten—in or out of Florida—then proceeded to explain why it tasted so damn good.

He was a whole lot of fun. In fact he was one big ol’ hoot and received a massive tip from the person hosting the dinner as a result. Our host also proceeded to tell the manager that Jason was the restaurant’s best asset. We all agreed. And, although every one of us had a terrific time, I’m convinced no one had more fun than Jason himself.

There’s tremendous power in accepting yourself and embracing who you truly are. No one else can ever be that exact same person. No one else can do and be the “you” that you are. When you offer the world that uniqueness, nine times out of ten, it will give you a big ol’ tip and compliments in return.

That’s a lesson that Elyse Smith, the protagonist of my debut novel, Mrs. Goodfeller, had to learn on her own. In fact, trying to be something she wasn’t almost cost her and her entire family their lives.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS WONDERFULLY AND UNIQUELY THEMSELVES? PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US WHAT MAKES THAT PERSON SO SPECIAL . . .OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE US TO KNOW. A FREE COPY OF MY DEBUT NOVEL, MRS. GOODFELLER WILL BE RANDOMLY AWARDED TO ONE PERSON WHO LEAVES A COMMENT BELOW BEFORE THE NEXT WRITERSPACE BLOG IS POSTED.

Jaycie Cash blogs on a regular basis for Writerspace.com. Her debut novel, MRS. GOODFELLER, is available through most major eBook outlets, including Amazon and Barnes and Noble. She’d love for you to like her Facebook Author page.