Confidence

For as I long as I could remember, I've always wanted to be a writer. It didn't matter what kind of writer, as long as I could get my voice to be heard and encourage other people, that was cool with me. I started writing when I was in elementary school, I was writing poems, short stories, random thoughts, anything I felt that I needed to write, I did. However, somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked and discouraged from writing. I'm not sure how it happened, but I remember in high school and in college, people would tell me that a career in writing was bleak. They deterred me away from the writing field, but I kept writing and tried to stay confident in my craft.

I used to dream about all of the careers goals that I had in mind; maybe I will be an editor, or a New York Times Best Selling author, grant writer, or a speech writer. The possibilities were endless! I, oddly enough, started to believe that maybe writing wasn't for me and that I wouldn't "prosper" in a writing career, and that I would fail. So I started working in other fields that I wasn't very passionate about. I did something that I said I wouldn't do and that was... I gave up, I threw in the towel! Even though I let others dictate what I should do and let them hurt my confidence; my love for writing never wavered. I knew that God blessed me with a gift in writing, but I decided to go another route. 

I worked job after job feeling miserable, unhappy, and unfulfilled. My confidence levels were not very high because I was nervous that if I started writing again, would it be well-received? Would I be successful? Would I be able to live off of a writing career, like my colleagues have told me that I wouldn't be able to? My mind was swarming with questions. Then I decided to not even care what other people thought! I was determined to find a way to get into writing, slowly but surely, God would help me make a way. I started this blog and now I am writing my poems, thoughts, and experiences for others to share with me. So far, it has been very well-received!

I want to be an encouragement to others, please don't give up on your dreams. Although I gave up on mine in the beginning, I still found ways to involve myself in writing through the years. I helped write grants, newsletters, articles, and I was an editor and writer for my college's science journal. I kept hope alive and being involved with these various writing projects, has helped me to gain my confidence back, and to pursue a career in writing. Never give up, if God has put something on your heart, please follow it, you never know what blessings you have in store!