I found that teaching this 8 week writing class has helped rebuild my self-confidence. I’ve tried something utterly new and challenging and I am doing all right at it. I think I could be really good at it if I kept it up. The timing isn’t great at this place…leaving work early is very stressful, as sometimes it’s hard just to leave work on time.

But when the kids acted up yesterday, I knew it was not all my fault for not doing right by them, and that felt good.

And today I went to the gym for the first time in 9 years. It was great to see all body types, fitness levels and styles of dress there. It’s easy for me to pre-intimidate myself thinking everyone’s going to be BETTER than me in 5 ways each.

When I told a coworker about these fears last week, she said, “But everyone’s there for the same reason; don’t worry about it.”

She was right. I felt pretty good for someone who’s been going it on her own. I had a good workout and left feeling energized. I may have actually grinned like a dope half the time I was there.