Finding the Strength

We all feel it-that nagging voice that tells us we aren’t good enough, that we have no idea what we’re doing, and that we’re wasting our time. That little voice, or even person, that says you can’t do this no matter what you do.

It sucks; especially when you want something more than breathing air.

So how do you pick yourself up and keep moving forward when you feel like you’re at the bottom of a million foot cliff with no way out?

Well, you have two options. You give up or you pick yourself up and find a way.

But how do you do that when your head keeps telling you how much you suck?

There’s been a lot of talk on the #keepgoing hashtag which is motivating writers to not give up. To do exactly that, KEEP GOING! It’s inspiring to see writers making it and achieving their goals. Even to see the difference one year makes.

Most of the time.

But sometimes those gremlins get in your brain and make you feel like you’re a slacker compared to the rest of the community, that you aren’t working as hard as the rest, and that you just can’t live up to everyone else.

You tell yourself you’re too fast, or too slow, or aren’t on the right path or any other host of things that eat at you from the inside out. You tell yourself you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.

I’ve got news for you…

THERE IS NO RIGHT PATH

YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU SHOULD BE

There’s only the path you are on and what works for you. Do what helps you learn and grow in the way that you need to in order to accomplish your goals.

Do what you have to do!

Plain and simple.

Find a support system, hone your craft, work at your own pace, and don’t give up. Only you know what’s right for you, so don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Have faith in yourself, and stick with it!

Inner Peace

Today Michelle Mason tagged me with the Inner Peace Award. The rules are to share seven things my blog readers don’t know about me.

1.) I’ve been to seven countries outside the US. And I’ll list my favorite part of each trip

• Israel – Floating in the dead sea and taking a jeep ride through the Golan Heights

  

  Me in the Golan Heights

• France – Cannes (side note: least favorite part, getting the worst sunburn of my life on a nude beach, no I wasn’t nude!)
• Spain – Swimming in the Olympic pool in Barcelona
• Italy – Seeing the leaning tower of Pisa, and pretty much everything in Rome.
• Monaco – Everything about it. This country is seriously gorgeous. So many awesome views. Not to mention some seriously cool expensive cars.
• Andorra – The Mountains
• England – Platform 9 ¾’s, the Tower of London, double decker buses, the Millenium bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Tower Bridge, and just London in general.

  

  Tower Bridge

2.) I didn’t always want to be an engineer. When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut, then for a very long time I wanted to be a Veterinarian. I changed my mind junior year of high school. When I went to a weeklong intro to engineering program, I saw them break a two inch diameter steel rod. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Right then and there I decided I wanted to break stuff for a living. I combined my love of space with my love of math and science and am now a Rocket Scientist.

3.) I started swimming when I was three and learned to do three strokes at that age, backstroke, breast stroke and freestyle. I swam on team for years, and was a butterflier for a while, one of the few who could do the stroke properly without getting DQ’d. When I got into high school I was on the swim team and was a breaststroker. I got a varsity letter on the swim team.

4.) In high school I considered changing my mailing address to the school's theater. I loved being a backstager. I staged managed a number of productions including Once Upon a Mattress. I climbed ladders, hung and focused lights, and programmed light boards. I was the only girl in backstage theater who didn’t paint. I couldn’t paint to save my life unless someone said go paint that wall black. I did construct sets, and I was the only girl who could pick up a screw gun and not have it taken away from her.

5.) I’m a dancer. They put ballet and tap shoes on me at age three. I danced tap, jazz, and ballet from aged three to eighteen. I started pointe at age fifteen. I quit when I went to college but picked it back up in grad school and beyond. I also love watching so you think you can dance. It reminds me of my dance days.

6.) I went to space camp. It was awesome. I got to see the shuttle roll out to the pad but sadly never saw a launch. I only wish I could have done some zero g training. I always wanted to ride in the vomit comet but never did.

7.) I loved sleep away camp. I spent eight summers at camp: five as a camper, two as a junior counselor, and one as a counselor. I even spent an entire eight week summer there as a camper one year. I met some of my best friends at camp at age twelve and we are still friends today nearly twenty years later. Most days I wish I could back to camp and do it all over again. Best time of my life!

So that’s seven things you may not have known about me. I’m tagging

Tom Torre

Mandy Pietruszewski

Stacey Trombley

Amira Makansi

You Can’t Please Everyone… So Stop Trying!

Ever feel like you are being torn in two trying to please everyone? Yeah that’s me pretty much every day. And it seems to be happening more and more lately. Someone has hold of each of my arms and legs and they are just pulling until I’m busted at the seams.

Okay, well that’s really just a metaphorical me, but it seems like it’s happening with increasing frequency when it comes to my manuscript. One person says one thing, someone else says something completely contradictory, and my head is spinning so fast I look like I need an exorcism. But that’s the thing, just because someone gives you advice, doesn’t mean you are obligated to take it. It is merely that, advice, someone’s opinion.

Writing is so subjective. It’s often difficult to know what feedback to listen to and what to ignore. So how do you know if you are making the right decision? Because you can’t possibly please everyone.

But that’s just it. There is no right decision, at least not in the general sense of the phrase. There is only what is right for you and your story, and what your gut tells you. It’s so hard to follow your gut. But you and only you know your story best, so you have to be true to that. By all means take what resonates with you and let your story evolve. But at the end of the day, you have to be happy with your story first or no one else will. Everyone else will either choose to stand behind you or not. Revel in those that support your vision and don’t sweat the others. Because unfortunately you can’t please everyone, so stop trying!

Give yourself a break. You’ll be better off for it.