We asked folks a question that led to many surprising answers – some sad, some thought-provoking and some funny. We’ve highlighted a cross section of those responses below.
Serena Potter
People always said I was quiet, shy and nice – how I hated being called nice. To me that was the ultimate in boring! For a long time I believed them, but as I grew into my teens, a determined, outspoken, original me emerged. Read more>>
Lorenzo Zucchi
I used to believe people support each other and now I realize we all live in an individual world. Still believing the form of association can give mutual benefits in a classic win win situation Read more>>
Sami Garrett
I believed that my ideas, wants, desires, beliefs, and opinions would make others mad and thus be unsafe for me to share. I learned to ‘go with the flow’ and became agreeable in every situation. I was there to be others’ cheerleader, sounding board, and emotional support, but couldn’t have my own spoken opinions or support. Read more>>
Amber DeSilva
My kindergarten teacher told my mom I was too sensitive and that she didn’t want me in her class. I was moved. My sensitivity was shamed out of me. I felt something was “wrong” with me—that I didn’t fit in. Over time, I let go of those beliefs, and now I work to embrace myself as I am. Read more>>
Maymunah Kelly
When I was younger I swore I’d be a writer. For the longest time it’s what I told everyone in the world—and although I’m not a full on narrative writer for fictional books, I have taken in another form of writing in a sense. Visually. Read more>>
Jae Nicole
As a child, I believed I was either too much or not enough. Too emotional. Too sensitive. Too outspoken. Too opinionated. And at the same time, not worthy enough, not wanted enough, and not valuable enough to take up space without apologizing for it. That belief followed me into adulthood. Read more>>
kay kenny
As s child I though I could be independent of outside forces. I could choose and live the life I desired immune to the powers around me, the nature that surrounds us and the wishes of others who imposed themselves in my private thoughts. Life was a matte of simple and direct actions. Childhood is a slow process of the erosion of dreams. Read more>>
Nate the Great
When I was growing up I experienced a lot of bullying both in person and online mainly because of a scar that consists of third degree burns on my forehead that I have had since I was an infant at 6 months old where I had a near death experience. Read more>>
Krittika Mittal
That I wasn’t creative. Growing up in India’s education system, I excelled in math and science, and I internalized the stereotype that being analytical meant I couldn’t be artistic. When I applied to architecture school, people warned me I wouldn’t succeed because I “couldn’t draw.” Later, in undergrad, I struggled in an environment with little creative guidance and was told I simply wasn’t creative enough. Read more>>
Todd Norian
My childhood was riddled with many different painful experiences of shame. Even though I was very successful in most everything I did, I was never the best. I didn’t make the high school freshman football team, never made it into the number 1 jazz band in college, and felt like a failure most all of my childhood. Read more>>
Shoni Alleyne
I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, so let’s start there. Early in life, I was taught to dim my light and not be my full, creative, inquisitive, and vibrant self. There was a box I was supposed to stay in and be happy with, but I never was. Read more>>
Tarious HIll
When I was a child, I believed that it was nothing that I could do. I was unstoppable. Invincible. Everything I put my mind to back then I was able to accomplish it. Now I don’t believe I can do anything on my own. Read more>>
Gina Agderian
I had wanted to write and publish a book ever since I was a child. I have always loved to read, and writing a story gave me a creative outlet and a place for all my thoughts and ideas to go. Read more>>
Justin Irby
As a child, I believed that life had a set path and that success meant following certain boxes—getting good grades, going to college, landing a stable 9-to-5 job, getting married, having kids. I thought I had to conform to what family, society, and even friends expected of me to be seen as successful. Read more>>
Cordaro Starlings
As a child, I believed my faith was anchored in the concept of ‘free will’. To be more specific, I felt the ability to make my own choices had nothing to do with a higher power, when in reality, God orders my steps and the bible reinforces my faith. Read more>>
Valentine
I used to always say I was shy and keep myself in the background. I did not believe in who I was. I was afraid to show up for myself and afraid of rejection or what people might think of me. For a long time, I dimmed my own light because I thought being small would keep me safe. Read more>>
Julia D’Angelo
That because I worked hard and was a good kid, I would be rewarded. The older I got, the more I became aware that the world owes you nothing, and most of what happens in life is luck, circumstance, or fate (if you believe in that). Read more>>
