That’s right – I know you’re reading this right now. This post is for those who come here to read stories, but haven’t submitted their own… yet.

(Before you start thinking, “this girl is nonsense, just let me read in peace,” hear me out, okay?)

When I first stumbled on to the Band Back Together site, I had massive steel walls up. Sharing anything that made me vulnerable was a HUGE no-no.

The devil on my shoulder told me that The Band was everything I didn’t deserve – supportive, honest people talking about REAL shit without fear. That stupid devil told me I had nothing to offer; no one could possibly relate to me. (Needless to say, those negative messages ran through all aspects of my life, not just about submitting a story here.)

So, I became a silent lurker.

Every single post led me to believe that I, in fact, was not alone. Life deals us all some horrendous, ugly crap.

Finally, I shoved that devil off my shoulder and decided to submit something.

The first moment I pressed submit, my heart fluttered with fear. Fear that I’d done something horribly wrong.

But you can probably figure out the rest of the story – nothing went wrong. In fact, it went truly, unbelievably RIGHT.

The Band told me I am brave, worthy of love, and not alone – three things that are incredibly hard, but important, to hear. In order to knock that devil off my shoulder for good, I needed to read those comments that were a direct response to writing I submitted.

As that devil lost his power, I had the urge to write about absolutely everything that was eating me up inside because I knew The Band would be there for me with unconditional support, hope, and virtual hugs. And, damn it feels so good to have that for the first time in my life.

Maybe you’re reading this right now and think:

–No one can relate to what I’m going through;
–My story isn’t worth reading; and/or
–I am not a good writer.

STOP. IT. RIGHT. NOW. All of those thoughts went through my mind, and let me tell you, NONE of it is true. That devil is trying to trick you, and you gotta FIGHT BACK.

You are 110% worth becoming part of The Band. It might be hard writing your first submission – in fact, it SHOULD be scary because you’re probably writing about something that you rarely talk about. But trust me: THIS is the place to do it. You owe it to yourself.

I was terrified, and maybe you are, too.

But if I can do it, so can you.