Dear Jun,

Thank you dearly for your sage advice. And I’m so sorry that you had to endure bullying, but I’m sure, like you said, it’s contributed to making you the thoughtful, caring, wonderful and brave person you are today!

Everything you wrote helps, especially the part about the brain being hard-wired to play on a self-entertaining loop unless we set boundaries. It helps to hear that others have gone through something similar.

As difficult as bringing up these feelings and memories has been, I think they may be playing a part in why I hold myself back and have such limiting beliefs. I am determined to use them to better understand what I was going through back then, why it’s beckoning me (aside from just being a distraction from my present life), and try to heal that section of my life that lives on in my subconscious. I was thinking that maybe I didn’t respond well to rejection back then, but here I am again today with the chance to take the path that I would have liked to take. To understand that not everything works out the way that we want it to, that not everyone will like us, and so we need to love and support ourselves so that we can be there for ourselves and act accordingly when hardships come up. So much easier without raging hormones (and the internet to support you!).

It’s very helpful to have the discussion with you and others who offered their help and opinions. Just writing out my feelings helps to solidify what I’m feeling and learning. So thank you!

Stay wonderful and brave yourself!