Inspiration: Do what you do, and love it

UPDATE:
I was shocked to find that Rachel Coker loved this blog post, and emailed me about it! I felt so honore to have actually brought tears to her eyes. This was her post on facebook about my blog entry:

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Today, Rachel Coker posted about an interesting topic today at her blog:
https://rachelcoker.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/if-you-cant-sing-good-sing-loud/
She said that you shouldn't be afraid to go out and do things even if you might fail or be ridiculed. If being afraid of other's opinions is preventing you from trying something, like singing or sports, than you need to stop being scared.

Then I realized something: I struggle with this. A LOT. It took me a while to figure it out, but after reading Rachel's post I realized how much being afraid of other's judgement and opinions of me that it was actually holding me back from doing the things I would enjoy doing.
Why am I letting people's viewpoint of me get in my way? I guess I'm not good at handling critique. I take it well in writing, because I know it will make me improve, but in the real world it always feels harsh. Or maybe that is just the person saying it to me.

I like to sing to music - when I like the song, I would prefer to join in! Being that I share a room with a sister I am in constant conflict with, this is never a good thing. I've been told I 'suck' at things like singing so many times, it just feels like I don't even want to try.

 I know this might sound weird, but I don't like to start something new and see others who are so darn good at it that I know I'll never be half as good, and that discourages me so I want to quit.

I was doing it wrong. 

But after reading Rachel's post, I realized how faulty I was with this thinking. It took me to read her post for my eyes to wake up to it so I could realize what I was doing so wrong.

Dr. Suess, a man of many wise words, once said; "Be who you are and say what you say, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." 


Isn't that just perfect?

I needed to hear that I wasn't doing this right. You can't let others' judgments get in the way of life! I dress and act the way I want to, which is way different from "normal" teenager girls, and I never cared about judgment then - why should I care what people think if I fail at something? As long as I enjoy what I am doing!

So guess what? I've been working on setting aside my fear of sports, and I am joining a sport for high school! Probably volleyball (doesn't sound too strenuous and I'm not very athletically able-bodied).
Funny, when I was a little kid my parents thought I was so sport; they were convinced I'd be into basketball or another sport my whole life. But I had ZERO interests other than horses. They attempted to get me to play flute, which lasted a few years, and I enjoy writing, but my horse-interest could not be quenched. Unfortunately, I was never able to get into the horse-world due to expensive lessons and EVERYTHING in it costs too much.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank Rachel Coker for her eye-opening post.
She inspired me to stop being afraid.
I hope I inspire you to do the same.

Stop listening to the critic inside or out (this is SO important in writing! Still working on that) just do what you love to do!

By the way, if you are looking for something to read I highly recommend Rachel's debut novel Interrupted!