Fighting the Fear Monster

Hello friendly readers. As of late I have been quite the slacker in posting. It was not for lack of inspiration, but due to fear. Odd, I know. Yet, fear is often the metaphorical thorn is many of our sides. Every time we begin to move forward it pierces deeper to remind us of its lingering presence. You see, words have always sort of been my thing. My mom told me I shocked people by being able to pronounce the name of the Southern California city I grew up in at the young age of 10 months. I began writing short stories and children's books at the age of six or seven. By the time I entered middle school, the rough draft essays I turned in were often accepted as final copy; and were used as examples for other students in my classes. That didn't always make me so popular with some of the other kids. I won both writing and speech contests and wrote poetry all through elementary and middle schools. I think the fear started to set in when I reached high school. We moved across country and was enrolled in a school with a higher level of education than my previous one. I had been bobbing along in my peaceful pond and suddenly found myself in a rushing river struggling to stay afloat. I didn't exactly drown, but my confidence did. I made it through university, walking away with double B.A.'s in political science and journalism. People are always amazed when they asked what degree I hold. I never understood why. I guess when you couple it with the fact that I worked to nearly pay off both degrees while studying it does sounds impressive. However, the point of this post is not to highlight my accomplishments. The point friends, is that of late I finally recognized that the only person who didn't believe I could make it, is me. The fear of making mistakes. The fear of failure. The fear of dreaming too big, or at all. For years all these things have stood in my way like an iron curtain. I simply never believed I always had the power to remove it. Many of my friends are graduating within this next month. I want to encourage them, and everyone else, to find a way to vanquish their fears and follow their dreams. Time is something that we can never get back. It is inevitable, unending, and passing more quickly with each moment. Therefore, do not waste it. We all have dreams, even if they have been buried deep down for some time. One of my dreams is to inspire change through words. For years the fear of failure haunted my thoughts every time I picked up a pen or opened a new document. Never again. This is why I am putting before myself the challenge of finishing at least one book by the end of this year. I challenge you, my readers, to find a dream of your own and set a time frame for yourself to make it happen. If you are ready to step out in faith as I am and work towards making your dreams reality, add your dream and prospective time frame to the comments section. We can be a support group for each other to ensure that all of our dreams become our realities. Who is with me?