{advice and articles | believe in your dreams and yourself no matter what: my journey}

As a young girl, I've always had an interest for reading as it was encouraged by my late grandfather with whom I shared a deep, loving connection. I remember being by his side during one of my final, memorable visits to him in hospital. I remember him telling me to never stop reading. Since then I've kept that unspoken and unbound promise through carrying that love of reading through to the art of writing. I have that outstanding man to thank for everything I've achieved so far in my life and for everything that is to come. 

I remember being so young and looking forward to our after-school or weekend trips to the local library. I became so lost in the world of books. It seems so long ago yet when I think of it the memories remain so strong in my mind and heart. This man, who so suddenly and unfortunately left this Earth, impressed upon me the importance and pleasure of reading that it has now stuck with me throughout all these years. I've finally found something in life that I'd like to say I'm good at, something I love and something I'm so passionate about and it's all because of him. In his memory I will never stop writing and I will never stop along this ambitious journey of mine until I feel I've accomplished all that I wish.

In high school, perhaps when I was in Year 8 or so and when Facebook was reaching it's prime a friend of mine encouraged me to start posting some of my writing online through the social media's 'Notes' section. I felt a little unsure about this because I didn't feel that my writing would be well-received in this landscape. However, after posting quotes, poems, advice and anecdotes I was truly overwhelmed by the response of so many of my peers. I was being congratulated for my work and more importantly, I was being told that I was voicing things that people could relate to; things that could guide them in life. This is where the passion for writing started to blossom. The love for it was always there but after knowing the power and potential of it all, I became so captivated.

From there, in knowing that I could influence people to be inspired, motivated and empowered I wanted to spread that power of words even more. I then took to blogging. Up until then it was all smooth sailing but I've truly battled with this passion of mine across an approximate 8 year span. I had blogs and projects which I established but I would delete and re-make. I found that I didn't have an extensive, loyal following on my blogs and my projects just happened to come to life in the spur of the moment yet were left unfulfilled. I also took the Creative Writing subject in my first year of university but chose to not see it through the following years due to feeling that my work didn't stand a chance against those of my peers. 

I doubted myself. And up until recently I've continued to do so. In my heart I know that writing is something I will never turn a blind eye to. It hasn't just be an escape for me but I've held so tightly onto this because I know that through what I've termed "the power of words" I can make a difference. I've always told myself that if I could just inspire, motivate or empower ONE person, I'd never stop. Therefore, it was rather foolish of me to start and stop blogging purely on the basis of how many followers I had or how many page views I was receiving. I'm lucky. Actually, I'm beyond lucky. I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I am because, over the years, I've had so many beautiful souls reach out to me whether I knew them or not to let me know that they admire my work, to never stop believing in my dream, that I've written something they can relate to or that I've changed their life or perspective. 

I know deep within my heart that I perhaps would not have pushed through all the self-doubt and confusion of identifying and accepting myself as a writer if it weren't for the out pour of love, encouragement and support that I've received. I want to thank every single person who has kindly complimented myself and my work throughout all these years of writing. Thank-you for believing in me when I honestly couldn't believe in myself and when I came inches away from giving up. At the start of this year, I restarted blogging and it's safe to say I'm here to stay. 

I see greater things happening in my life as a writer chasing her dreams but I know that it all comes down to creating opportunities for myself as well as taking risks as opportunities arise. This year I set myself a goal: to apply as a writer for Elite Daily; a site which stands as the voice of GEN-Y. One night, I sat with my laptop and left my comfort zone (something I don't often do) and applied as a Contributing Writer. For me, as much as I've loved writing, I didn't think I could see myself ever making a career out of it or having it been read by the masses for I wrote inspirational and motivational life pieces where as hard-hitting journalism is what I thought was more commonly accepted. I then came to accept that I would find another passion whilst writing on the side. 

However when I came across Elite Daily, I was absolutely enchanted by their LIFE section where their writers were creating pieces exactly like that of mine: sentimental, invaluable words of wisdom. In being accepted as a Contributing Writer, I was beginning to find my place as a writer for I was being invited into a world of like-minded individuals. I thought to myself that maybe my work did fit in somewhere. After having my first article published on their website, I began to believe in myself more and more. In having a gentleman all the way from L.A message me within an hr or so of the first ever article being published I realised why I love writing and why I'm never going to stop. He thanked me for writing that piece for he is currently going through a testing time and it reminded him to have hope and faith and that life is good and going to get better. This is exactly why I love what I do because I can change someone's life.

Here I am now becoming more confident as a writer however I know that for so many years now I've kept saying I want to write a 'Book of Inspiration.' As mentioned earlier, I never saw a career in writing for in my mind I wondered, "Is it going to bring me a secure income?", "Won't it take me too long to write a book and then (self) publish?" and "Do people even have an interest in what I'm writing about?" Again, my self doubt rose from the ashes. Now on Instagram I see this become a lived reality where so many (aspiring) writers are self publishing their own books which has given me so much hope that I can too do the same if I set my mind and time to it. 

I know I should've always believed in myself no matter what but I am truly thankful for all the beautiful people who have been the reason I have held onto my passion. That's my journey so far. Thank-you to those who have followed it and those who have recently joined me. Together we can all work to be where we want to be and to become who we want to be. The moral of my story (which I know...seems never-ending) is that if you don't believe in yourself no-one will. While I've been lucky to have so much support over the years, even if I had never received any at all that should never have stopped me from seeing my dream through. Even if I had never come across people who inspire me or shown me that my dream is possible, I should've kept dedicated to that passion and believed in it's success. 

I wish every single one of you the best in all of your endeavours. Always believe in yourself and your vision to the point where it's yours; no-one can take it from you or make you feel as though it's not possible or worthy of appraisal or acceptance. I have truly come to believe that anything is possible; any dream or goal, as long as you believe and as long as you work hard. All you need along this journey of success and dream-chasing is yourself, self-belief, hope and faith, a passion and an action-plan. If you're lucky to find anything else significant a long the way, count that as a bonus.