The Lifestyle Choices That Helped Me Learn To Accept Myself

I was raised in Baltimore, an only child in a single parent household. My father struggled with drug addiction and an ever-evolving arrest record, and was absent most of my youth.

My mother worked tirelessly to protect me from my environment. She moved us into a lower middle class neighborhood in the suburbs of Baltimore County, and enrolled me in some of the best schools there.

But for years I struggled with self-doubt and low self-esteem, and school only made things worse.
Teachers told me that I’d never graduate from high school, students made fun of me because I was a part of the free/reduced lunch program.

I carried those feelings of inadequacy along with me into adulthood, and was ultimately diagnosed with generalized anxiety and panic disorder a few years ago.

This completely changed the trajectory of my life.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE
By Quentin Vennie at MindBodyGreen