(Oh, wow. This was a draft from over a year ago... I never clicked on "publish". I think it was from May of 2013. Interesting. Guess I'll go public with it.)

My friend, Stephanie, recently shared this quote on her facebook wall, and I really like it. I want to live it.

My sister keeps telling me that I need to blog more. "Your fans await," she says. "And you need to let us know when you write a new post." My reply was that if I post that I have a new blog entry, it's kind of like saying, "Look at me! I'm important! Go read my wonderful, insightful words!" Cindy's response? "No, people aren't going to think that, and if they do... well, whatever." So, yeah... whatever.

I spend (have spent) too much time worrying about what others think of me. It's robbed me of joy. I can analyze where that all stemmed from - and I have, through many counseling appointments with my beloved counselor! Regardless of where that comes from (and I have a pretty good idea), the end result is that I often give too much power or control to others. Meaning, I let what others think or say (or even what I IMAGINE  they are thinking) influence my own thoughts and decisions. I question myself. Not all the time, but when I do, I hate it.

I recently was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and starting taking meds for it. My anxiety isn't gone, but it's definitely better. And it's been a relief because now I'm like, "See, Suzi? There's a reason why you got that sick feeling in your gut, there's a reason why your heart rate sped up, and there's a reason why you had those horrible dreams about people close to you dying."

A few weeks ago during a girls' night, another friend of mine, Lisa, said to me, "Isn't it great to like yourself again?" I never really thought of it that way, but... yeah. It is.