…Continued. Oprah Winfrey was told that her face was not good enough for television. Dick Rowe of Deca Records told the Beatles that guitar groups were on their way out. Walt Disney was fired for lacking imagination. Growing up, you believe you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. You haven’t seen the unpleasant side of life. You haven’t been knocked down a few rungs. You still believe in magic! My story is a bit similar. A lot of people know me as the ever-smiling chatterbox that befriends any human being with a pulse. I am known as the straight and narrow daughter of a preacher who is exemplary to peers. Under all that fluff no one knows the self loathing and the girl that would do anything not to be in a public setting. Heck, I do a song and dance when I have the chance to be home alone. A lot of the people I was surrounded by would always highlight my flaws. My eyes were scary, I was and still am, too skinny. I talk to too many people. I dress like a clown. Mind you, these are the kind comments. No wonder I am more accustomed to dealing with disparaging comments than I am with accepting a compliment (HARDEST TASK EVER!). “Why do you not see the good that I see in you?”, my bestfriend would always ask me. “BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING GOOD IN ME!”, I exclaimed when I had had enough of circumventing the question.
“Some of the most poisonous people come disguised as friends and family.” – Unknown
Because I’ve been drowning in so much negativity and probably ingested a lot of it, I lost confidence in myself and consequently my craft. I began to think that no one has an interest in what I have to say. I became, and still am from time to time, recluse. The irony in all this is that the emotional scarring that made me abandon my passion is what has propelled me back to it. Those who have stood by me have taught me that I’m always going to face difficulties but I owe it to myself and those that have invested in me to love myself and soldier on!One of these days I want to look at myself and say, “You USED to be sad…”

My Canvas! 