Topic : Defining Your Authentic Self

I gave up checking in here because it was a ghost town, but it appears that we haven't been shut down after all and it's good to hear from you again! I've been on the current events boards expressing my dismay at what's going on.

Marcia, glad to see that you are still a work in progress, aren't we all? I've certainly fallen off the wagon as of late and need to get back on.

Brenda, don't be so hard on yourself, in the end you have the vehicle you wanted correct? They only scammed you if you believe they did. Why not just see it as a mistake? That's what it was, a miscommunication between the salesmen and a mistake in not getting it in writing on your part. We all do this, join the huge club. You and I know that it won't happen again and that's the main thing.

I beat myself up for awhile because we should have waited to buy a house last year, we could have got a nicer one for less price had we waited. But you know what? I'm not a fortune teller, so beating myself up about it is a huge waste of time. In the end, we have a beautiful house, even if it needs some work that we can't afford to do right now.

That first year of high school can be a tough one. Did you move to a different area and so have nobody from your old school going to the new one?

One thing you might try is to pick an extra curricular activity that you think you might like. That way you'll fall in with a few other kids that have a same interest as you, and it will give you something to do.

Another thing you might try is to remember what it was like when you  first went to kindergarten. It was a new adventure and maybe you were a little scared then too? But you made it OK, and even made some friends. Trust me, you will look back on this part of your life when you are a senior, and it will be like looking back on kindergarten now.

Making good and lasting friends depends on your approach now. Don't just wait for somebody to come invite you into their group, scout out people who are doing things that interest you, and join them.

As to getting a good education, it can be done under the humblest of circumstances. Hundreds of children are home-schooled with only text-books and a parent. Yet, many home-schooled students have been shown to be better prepared academically than public schooled students. A better school does not guarantee entrance to college, only the willingness and perseverance of the student does that. If you want to get into a good university, a group you might want to join is the National Honor Society. These students all have university as their goal and every high school supports this organization.

Good luck, come back and let us know how you are doing OK?

Hi everyone

I thought it was time to make an appearance.  Just got home from a 2 week vacation to Malaysia.  Spent a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur before driving off to the Cameron Highlands for a couple of days then drove over to Penang for a weeks R & R at a resort before driving back to Kuala Lumpur before heading home to Perth.

Life has been hectic and stressful but thanks to the lessons I learned about myself from doing the Dr Phil I know that the wrench that is about to happen with finishing with a company I started and grew to a large enterprise is just another small speed hump and is not a reflection on the real being that is me.

Couple that with difficulties on house purchases and almost rebuilding - well it would have floored the old me. 

Yes I feel crappy about some of the things but I can honestly say that I still feel good about ME.  The only one that really matters because without me feeling good about I can't be good for my loved ones.

Hope everyone is still moving forward with their lives - it looks that way - good luck everyone

Continue forward

I have always wanted to see Kuala Lumpur, I'm green with envy! Hope you had a memorable time and took lots of pictures.

Life in the USA has taken a turn for the bizarre. Changes are coming swiftly and many here are off balance, stressed, afraid for the future, and angry. But life goes on, and cope we must.

I agree with you, in times past the personal family problems we are dealing with along with the developements in the national and world fronts would have knocked me flat. These are the times when you draw on your inner resources and focus on what  you CAN control and influence.

Always good to hear from you.

A worthy sentiment expressed by many throughout the ages. My first quote experiencing this was by Eleanor Roosevelt:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

I would be the first to admit that this is true for me.

What a wonderful thing to do for your father. I'm happy that he enjoyed the day. (And I hope you took many pictures so that he can relive it over and over!)

I took pictures of EVERYONE who attended the party. I got pictures of my Dad with his older siblings! TONS of pictures of the cake. I even got a picture of my Dad's older sister, talking to her 'baby' brother, holding his face in her hands-she is 87 years old. I've gotten so much feedback from everyone! Everyone spoke of what fun the party was and having the Birthday 'Boy', really surprised! We had so many people who love that man SO much!!!

EVERYONE loved the cake with the 'Red Roof Inn' on top! 

I'm going to upload some of those pictures to the New Board, so you can check them out!

Brenda 

I am a contradiction. No matter what it is, every detail about me goes against another detail. Because of this, I'm unable to ever make heads or tails of anything, and yet at the same time it's easy for me to make sense of any situation I'm faced with. I'm cold, calculating, and distant, but at the same time I also know myself to be light hearted and strong in my own emotions. Every waking moment is filled with constant turmoil because of this confusion, both emotional and physical, that always haunts me. Even my very existence is a contradiction. I am someone who should've never been born, and yet I'm very much alive healthy. I am also someone who wishes to be dead, but despite that fact that I crave that state with every fiber of my being, I am unable to bring myself to that condition. Not because I am afraid of death, but because I am unable to consciously cause myself harm for fear of that pain. I have always been able to see the possible outcomes of every situation and most of the time, I am able to steer the situation in the direction that most appeals to me. However, whenever I look towards my own future the only possibility I am sure of, or can even see is that I will one day be responsible for my own death. It's so strange, I have always been someone likely to succeed, to have the challenges of life come easily to me. Despite that, I am the one unable to find my own accomplishments on the path I'm stuck following. I have always been anti-social, an introvert at heart, yet I find myself surrounded by many people I somehow made to be my friends. Strangest of all, I have thought this way since before I reached an age consisting of two digits. I used to tell myself I was crazy, under the knowledge that the truly insane are always unaware of their status, and I would acknowledge I was crazy as a way of protecting myself from that fate. Now, when I wonder if all of these contradictory thoughts occur because I am crazy, for a brief second I become fearful and tell myself it's not possible. When I catch myself thinking that, I force myself to be logical again and acknowledge that I must be crazy so that I won't be. Please, if nothing else, can someone confirm these thoughts for me. I feel as though my own mind is just a realm of chaos in which my inner self is hopelessly and helplessly searching for some sort of solid state.