Tag: be yourself

Shy Shell

Anna PengLeave a comment

Back when I was still deep into my own shell, I used to blame my parents or other authoritarian figures in my life for my lack of being socially comfortable, shy, and/or awkwardness. It was easy and passive to say, “Hey, it’s not my fault. I was raised like this.”

As I grew older, it became frustrating to have others speak on my behalf.

And so, when I finally began picking up the pieces to talk, I realized that there was nobody who would be able to represent me except for myself. It sounds plainly obvious, but I avoided it for years. There was nobody to blame for my social shortcomings except me.

Reference Points

Anna PengLeave a comment

After spending 4 or 5 years in a specific educational institution surrounded by specific people with similar interests, we’ve created mental reference points for ourselves. That is, if we haven’t reached certain milestones like landing an internship at a major tech firm, moving out of our parent’s homes, marriage, getting a “real job”, doing freelance work for major clients, moving onto higher level education (and the list goes on), then we feel misplaced or left behind.

Sometimes what we need is a reminder that there’s much more on offer than what our peers, family members, or colleagues are doing.

What we see is such a small, narrow tangent of reality. 

We’d be robbing ourselves of all the chances we could take to move onwards if we choose to fixate on such a thin string of the world.  

Doing It Anyways

Anna PengLeave a comment

People will always give unlimited reasons for you to stop.

Don’t pursue the arts, it’s too difficult of a career path.

Don’t do unpaid work because you need money.

Don’t do freelance work, it’s too unstable.

And on and on.

Our job is to see these pieces of resistance, hear it, and do whatever we set out to do anyways because there’s no room for doubt when it comes to seeking out our own story.