This post is a reminder to embrace yourself

You are the only one who can achieve what you have achieved and who can create what you have created. Unique is beautiful, so cherish it. Weird is awesome, so embrace it.

This week I decided to do something I have never done before. I submitted work to an Art and Literature magazine, more specifically through Marywood. Marywood University has a magazine entitled The Bayleaf. It provides a chance for artists and writers to submit their work, get voted on, and hopefully get published. I am a very nervous person who likes to compare myself to everyone else rather than appreciating my own talent, which I am positive all artists do. I was encouraged, however, to go for it and put my name and my work out there. What did I have to lose?

I won’t lie, it was a scary thing for me to do and once I saw the ridiculous talent coming out of Marywood I felt a pang of doubt in myself. Though the process was terrifying, giving a certain level of voluntary vulnerability, I urge others to consider putting their work out into the world. We all have unique gifts that not everyone in this world has possession of. It is beautiful to see just how much amazing work has come out of the writers and artists at Marywood. Though I do not know what will come of this experience, it makes me so proud to be in the running with such talented individuals. I am also proud of the decision I made for myself. When in doubt, “do something crazy.”