ysobel | (Reply)

From:

It's hard. It's particularly hard to go from smooshy to 100% bold in one jump. I had good luck writing out scripts for my phone calls, so I wouldn't get distracted from the points I wanted to make.

Also, as Laura Hershey wrote a decade ago ... You Get Proud by Practicing:

begin quote If you are not proud
for who you are, for what you say, for how you look;
if every time you stop
to think of yourself, you do not see yourself glowing
with golden light; do not, therefore, give up on yourself.
You can
get proud.

You do not need
a better body, a purer spirit, or a Ph.D.
to be proud.
You do not need
a lot of money, a handsome boyfriend, or a nice car.
You do not need
to be able to walk, or see, or hear,
or use big, complicated words,
or do any of the things that you just can't do
to be proud. A caseworker
cannot make you proud,
or a doctor.
You only need
more practice.
You get proud
by practicing. quote ends