Page 22 - San Diego Woman Magazine

The

Afterthoughts

By Laya Grace Aichle, 14

I will never accept that I will not succeed.
I can't do this!
Mistakes show you're learning
If you stick to what you know, you'll never grow up
Never trying anything new won't help you
become successful in life, and it's a dangerous spot
to be stuck in. On the other hand, expanding your
knowledge is where you're safest from them. Don't
get stuck in the Afterthought, the "I can't do this"
of life. That's where the most dangerous things
happen.
Doubt and depression, low self-esteem, that's
where the tar-like thoughts and smokey words
cloud your brain, confounding it, confusing it. Your
belief in yourself determines whether you may win
or lose this fight. It's life or death, and the brain can
eat up Afterthoughts like candy.
An Afterthought's goal is to destroy you from
the inside out, filling the brain with poisonous
thoughts in the hope some stick like leeches. Some
people never survive, driving themselves crazy.
Only the bravest continue on. They know, hope,
there's a better way. We sound a lot like optimists,
I know, but the four of us are anything but. We just
share one thing in common - The belief that this
can't be the end of us; It's only the beginning.

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