"She's got a ways to go if she is intending to make a career out of writing. Sorry ..."

Ever since I read this sentence about a piece of my writing, it has stuck with me completely. I pride myself on being a great writer and it has always been one of my biggest passions and outlets, so absorbing this hateful critique was more than painful. Of course I know I am not the best I can be and have a long way to go. I am twenty years old with a life time ahead of me, however I can make a career out of anything I want to, whether said person thinks I can or not, and I will work twice has hard to get there just to prove this person wrong.

That's the thing. Whether you're the best at something, the worst at something, or happily floating in the middle, there are always going to be people trying to bring you down. There are always going to be people who feel the need to give their two-cents, whether they have knowledge behind their two-cents or not. There are always going to be people who want to see you fail and will enjoy watching it happen along the way.

These type of people hurt and their words do too, but letting them get to you only gives them all the power. If you take their words and use them to fuel your fire rather than burn the bridges to your dreams, you will cause them to fail. You will cause them to stagger backwards, breathless, in shock of the kick ass person you are and the kick ass job you did with whatever they were so heavily doubting.

You are never going to have the support and approval of every one on this earth, it just isn't humanly possible. Support is a beautiful thing, but disproval and doubt are gifts. They should be taken with a shining grin and wide eyes like you just won the lottery. Open that glittery box of personal jabs, feel them one by one, and then set out to get the job done.

Set out to be the best you can be and whatever you want. Be the best writer, be the best singer, be the best hotdog eater, be the best, no matter what the cost. You may not be the best in the world, but you will be the best in your eyes and that's what truly matters.

We weren't placed on this earth to please others. We were placed here to find our place and to own the crap out of it when we get there, strutting around like some hot model on a runway in NYC. When you stop acting like a sissy and work that runway, you will be well on your way to being the best.

That is exactly what I decided to do. I decided to stop being a sissy and to work my runway of a life. I decided that any doubt, disproval, hate or jab that got in my way was only going to serve as fuel to bettering my strengths and strengthening my weaknesses. So to return to the beginning of this, you, reading this, may not like what I have written, and that's okay. Your life will go on and so will mine. Fuel my fire. Let your fire be fueled.