Killing the Inner Critic

 I want to be a ballerina—no, wait, an army sergeant, or maybe an artist. What about an actor? When you are young the constant stream of possible careers seems endless. Your brain runs a mile a minute when you feel like you can take on the world. Then you get older... you start to become more cynical about your abilities and shoot down your dreams. I want to be a ballerina but I can barely walk in a straight line. I could be an army sergeant but they'd take one look at me and laugh. I love to paint which means I would be a great artist but who else wants to look at my paintings that could only be classified as abstract. Acting would be amazing, I mean I act like I'm thrilled with life every day... yet I'm far from pretty enough to be in anything worth seeing. As years go on, you become your own greatest critic. The person who puts you down the most and says your future career will only ever be working at the grocery store at minimum wage. If you get caught up in this mindset, you might just become like some adults I've met. Constantly plagued by insecurities and living stagnant, stuck in one place because they don't believe they can go any farther in life. 

I can't lie and say I've never fallen into this mindset. I struggle with insecurities and criticize myself every day. Who am I to teach anyone? I'm a homeschooled, 18-year-old who struggles with depression. Why am I trying to offer support to others? I always say the wrong thing and can't even fix the problems I've been fighting with since I was 6. I'm not saying you will never struggle, but, if you can stand back up and counter the negative thoughts flowing into your head, you can overcome your own mind AND be made stronger against the negative thoughts that constantly flow through your mind. You are beautiful. You are strong. You are smart and capable. You are so much more than what you believe you are. 

As always thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments you think up!