i am too.   i imagine that I am not alone. That i can be a success. That i am not the failure my family expects me to be. So I pretend too. imagine i am other than myself. That i am confident and strong and ideal. but i am scared and lonely and trapped in my fear and insecurities. someone free ,me. someone tell me how to be. how does everyone know how to be? where did they learn? how can i be more like that? i wish i knew the right way. or maybe i should stop complaining and buck up.  i am a work in progess...

      uncertain, confused, often terrified...

i wonder what my 40-year-old self would say to me...

i sure could use the advice.