Valeria Acosta

You try while others watch and wait. The embarrassment passes, the experience remains. The discomfort disappears, and you grow. Sometimes you have to blaze the trail before others can walk comfortably on it.

Sticking to what is comfortable will give you a false sense of security, but everything “outside” will still be dangerously distant, like a threat.

If you want more, you should learn new perspectives and gain new experiences that will allow you to constantly develop. For this to happen, you need to put yourself in new situations to observe how you behave and gain knowledge.

We shouldn’t rely on brands or strangers online to create community for us. Instead, let’s recognize and appreciate the ways community already shows up in our everyday lives — and reflect on how we can nurture it and continue caring for those who do the same for us.

Don’t try to do what you think people will find interesting or what might present you as “relatable.” That is not something you can control. It’s a consequence of being your true self and speaking your truth. Once people recognize that in you, they’ll believe in what you have to say.

Make mistakes. Say things that are wrong. Say something that comes from the heart. We are in dire need of authenticity and anyone who puts themselves out there and says how they truly feel is admirable.

how are we supposed to grow into our most self-selves if we are too scared of what other people might think of us?

I am glad that my vulnerability and honesty have made people feel understood

the purpose of writing or creating isn’t to tout a finished product; the value of what we do isn’t in having a sellable thing to make us a profit. it is to fuel our curiosity and reflect who we are in the moment we were creating said thing. we are our process; our work let’s us greet old versions of ourselves like old friends or lovers.