Thank you so much for this Skeezyks. It is a hard thing to do. I can only trust what I feel and hear, but I know my mind is an unreliable narrator of my own life story. When so many of the feedback comes from compromising, contradictory sources (upbringing, social norms, education, professional, etc), it is really easy to believe that worth is defined by others. I am over 35 years old, and I don't know if I have ever given myself the permission to want something without it being influenced by others. I am a loyal person, especially to my family, and it feels like any disagreement is a betrayal by me. Reading the stories in the links of that article helps because it lets me see others in similar situations having comparable responses - I am not so weird after all. It also gives me hope that I can get through.

Overcoming my guilt is going to be difficult, but you helped my day be a little easier; you lightened my load a bit. That is going to be enough for today. So thanks for that.