I used to be an expert in sweating the small stuff.

I read this in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens by Richard Carlson and thought, “Wait. Story of my life.”

“I received a great letter from a teen who told me that, in the past, she had created a life in her head that included no friends. She'd convinced herself that no one could like her, and that everyone was angry with her. After hearing about the importance of recognizing her own thinking, she woke up to the fact that she was simply carrying on in her mind – it was just her thinking.

She said that she still has occasional insecure thoughts about what others are going to think of her, but she has learned to take them less seriously. As she recognizes her thinking, the sting of pain leaves her.”

Before, I thought I'd never be alright the way I am now. It turns out I just created a negative image of myself. Now that I'm 19, I feel like I didn't live the best of my teen years. Its only now I've realized that the best way to get rid of unpleasant feelings and insecurity is to think and do more for others. Forget myself, then I'll forget my problems (most are imaginary, anyway).