{"id":6883,"date":"2019-10-11T11:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T15:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/apples.masterhouse.net\/?p=6883"},"modified":"2020-10-26T19:04:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T23:04:12","slug":"an-ode-to-my-younger-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/11\/an-ode-to-my-younger-self\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ode to My Younger Self"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

~Ralph Blum<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 It’ true that I hadn’t had much human connection until I chose to let go of those I wasn’t connecting too.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my lifetime (until now) I have had little support from those around me. I had constant doubt thrown my way, I had people who never believed I would amount to anything and I had a never ending battle of wanting to believe I was good enough and never feeling like I was.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I was abandoned by my father at a young age and have yet to reconcile with it. I have never been close to any of my family and because of this I have always been alone. I always had no choice but to be independent, to not give up, to work hard and to make smart decisions because at the end of the day I had no one to lean on but myself. \u00a0I do not share my story because I am a victim. In fact I have never victimized myself and will not allow myself to become a victim to my circumstances. Living the life I do has only forced me to work harder, to do better and to become stronger.
\n<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 You may wonder why I am choosing to share this now?\u00a0 because for the first time in my life I don’t feel like I owe anything to anyone, I don’t feel like I have to be “good enough” because I know my worth and I choose not to hold on to those who show me less value then I deserve. This summer marks 12 years being gone from my hometown and I can honestly say i have exceeded any expectations I ever had of myself.
\nI have redefined me as a person …and I have LIVED… oh 1000x I have lived.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 For any of you who may be in a tough spot or may not think you are good enough please don’t limit yourself. Thoughts become things and God is ready to take you on a wild ride.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And at the end of the day just be you… you are more than enough.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.\u201d\u00a0 ~Ralph Blum \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 It’ true that I hadn’t had much human connection until I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Ode to My Younger Self - dialog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/11\/an-ode-to-my-younger-self\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Ode to My Younger Self - dialog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.\u201d\u00a0 ~Ralph Blum \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 It’ true that I hadn’t had much human connection until I...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/11\/an-ode-to-my-younger-self\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"dialog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-11T15:00:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-26T23:04:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/DialogBGSimonMobile.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"658\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Damien Gillis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Damien Gillis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/11\/an-ode-to-my-younger-self\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.thisisdialog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/11\/an-ode-to-my-younger-self\/\",\"name\":\"An Ode to My Younger Self - 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