“From Self-Doubt to Self-Love: The Day I Realized I Was My Own Hero”
-Warren
When people see me now, they see someone who is extremely confident, perhaps even a bit arrogant. They might think this because I’ve learned, over time, to unapologetically believe in myself. But I think there’s a misunderstanding here—I’ve simply learned how to love myself.
To be honest, for most of my younger life, I didn’t love who I was as a person. I lacked confidence in who I was at the time, and I didn’t believe in who I could become. I felt like I was meandering through life, just hoping that people wouldn’t be afraid of me, wouldn’t make fun of me, and would accept me. I wanted so desperately to be like everyone else. It’s sad to admit, but I know there are many kids out there right now who are going through life without a sense of self-love, just like I did.
For me, it got to the point where I truly needed help. I was so low, so down on myself during my adult years. But when I sought help, no one came. No one had time for me. And it was in that moment of realization—when I was at my lowest and no one noticed or extended a hand—that I understood something crucial: I was going to have to do this myself. I was going to have to be my own hero and pull myself out of the dirt. Once that epiphany hit me, I never looked back.
I forced myself to love myself, and when I did, I made a vow to never allow anyone to say negative things about me again. I refused to let myself feel negatively about who I was or what I could become. Once I decided to be the best version of myself, to strive for what I wanted to be, others started to ridicule me for my self-confidence, my self-love, and my belief in myself.
But the only way I could rise out of the dirt was to speak it into existence—out loud. I felt that if I declared how I wanted to feel about myself, I would have to hold myself accountable because I knew others would be watching, waiting for me to drop the ball. Now, I no longer doubt who I am. Sometimes, I look back and feel a little sad for the person I once was, but now I know exactly who I am.
I’ve achieved a level of self-love so powerful that there’s no going back. What I’ve accomplished is the manifestation of who I always wanted to become, but never believed I could be during the majority of my life. You see, I’ve lived without self-love far longer than I’ve lived with it, but now that I have it, I’m going to continue to say it out loud. I’m going to continue to hold myself accountable for being the best I can be. This has nothing to do with anyone else; it’s my own internal declaration that I love who I am, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else says.