Now, Is Always The Best Time To Start.

Now, is always the best time to start.

I am a bit off my rocker 80% of the time, but -

I will be strong and confident. I have no choice 😀

I am 2 years into my dream career as a professional athlete, and quite frankly, I am surprised I have made it this far.

Not because I have achieved anything great, no. But more so I feel like I’ve been living on the precipice of insanity and depression (legit) everyday since I’ve arrived here.

I came from a very elite level in my sport in my home country, and was suppose to be a “big fish in a little pond” when I entered into the current league I am playing in. But I feel as though I am the worst athlete I’ve ever been here, and that I am sliding down this slippery slope to only getting worse.

My teammates don’t really like/respect me as an athlete, and are not supportive.

My confidence has been at an all-time low in my career for the past year and a half.

I do not feel as though I am improving

I feel ashamed that I am not better at my job when people had such high expectations of me coming in

I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of opportunities

I don’t want to be a cloud of sadness, and I try so hard not to fixate on the negativity of my situations but it’s all-consuming.

I genuinely desire to enjoy and grow my career while I still can, but I feel as though I am at the end of my rope mentally.

So I reach out to you oh, great tumblr community — who has been my safe haven since middle school (over a decade ago) — what advice/words of empowerment can you give this lowly athelte?

I feel as though I have read every mental psyche book, listen to every psychologist’s podcast; did every meditation and yoga seminar available to bring me to my “center”/inner peace; I have spoken to my coaches, friends, family etc. I have been searching everywhere for an answer but am still coming up on empty about what’s truly wrong with me.

I love my job so so much, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to play the sport that I have loved since I was a child; having the chance to live out you lifelong dream/goal is a luxury that I know many don’t get to have. So that’s why I just need a bit of help.

I hope this reaches the right people because I truly want to move onwards and upwards.

Please send good vibes, or ominous positivity if you have any.

Thank you❤️

my one grammatical pet peeve (i have many, this is just The One) that will unfairly push me from reading something is improperly punctuated dialogue…and it’s SO fixable and will clean up so much writing so quickly. like. okay. writing advice, and it’s the main pillar that, when i see violated, has me like walter white screaming in the car.jpeg

“This is a sentence.” ✅ (perfect, no notes.)

“This is a sentence,” ❌ (commas are never a final punctuation mark if there’s no following dialogue tag.) (dialogue tag = he said, she said, you said, i said.)

“This is a sentence,” he said. ✅ (comma after the quote/between the dialogue tag, non-capitalized dialogue tag.)

“This is a sentence,” He said. ❌ (no capitals! he said is not a new sentence, but rather apart of the quote.)

“This is a sentence.” He said. ❌ (most common. wrong. it’s one sentence 😔, there’s a comma to separate the tag, and the tag should not be capitalized for reasons: see above.)

“This is a sentence.” He laughed. ✅ (he laughed is not a dialogue tag, it’s an action, therefore a new sentence & capitalized. This is sometimes debated, so if it’s easier to conceptualize using another verb, do so.)

“This is a sentence,” he said. “When starting another one or interrupting it with a dialogue tag, it’s best to capitalize the start of this new sentence. However, you can also interrupt dialogue with action,”—like this, where you insert your action, motion, or thought of choice—“using em dashes. When you resume the sentence, it won’t be capitalized, unless it’s a proper noun, until you start a new sentence because it still apart of the old one. Make sure to use a period at the end of the sentence when it’s all over.”

“This is a sentence,”—he laughed, slapping his knee—“and this is an example of how you can interrupt a line of dialogue using an action. Notice the pronoun isn’t capitalized? Nor the resuming dialogue?”

Related, but different: “This is a sentence.” He laughed, slapping his knee. “And this is an example of how you can break up a line of dialogue using action, while not necessarily interrupting it. They’re two distinct sentences and often depend on how the author intends for the reader to read/hear the line—quickly, in one breath, or paused, properly spaced.”

I can’t be the only who watched How To Train Your Dragon -

saw Toothless —

— And was immediately reminded of this man!??

Am I getting old, or have raisins always tasted like white chocolate?

Cozy