What is something you’ve been ashamed of once but not anymore?

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1. I was once ashamed of my body, but I have since learned to love and appreciate it for what it is.

2. Who I am as a person.

   I went through several phases of not being myself, because I thought I was too strange, weird, different, morbid… I’ve been a lot of people, but somewhere in my 20s, which I spent plastered in clubs or bars dancing, my drunk butt just started letting things fall out of my mouth with zero thought. Instead of losing friends, I gained a LOT more of them. Turns out, what I thought was a personality to be ashamed of, with my collecting, and extensive knowledge of morbid facts and dark, cynical humor, is actually what a lot of people seem to need in their life to make them lighten up, too.

   I’m still ashamed of me, mostly physical issues, but I reached a point where if someone doesn’t like my personality, that’s a THEM problem, because I and everyone else around me are having a good time.

3. shame is a good motivator

4. Not being the “chill girl”

   I put way too much effort into my teens/early 20s trying to paint myself as the constant chill girl about everything. I am, in fact, not constantly chill about everything and I have found much more joy setting boundaries that make me comfortable.

5. what I like to do, like hobbies and stuff like that. I used to be ashamed because I saw all of my peers “growing” and starting to like new things and just kind of growing up too fast. In school people would talk about the kids who liked anything different from the “norm”. But honestly I feel as though everyone is still a child at heart. Like I’ve grown and have gotten some more mature interests but I still love watching kid shows and being silly and just kind of being care free. I feel as though I’m still sort of the same person but just in a grown up body and I feel society pressures us not to embrace it. But now I will never be ashamed of turning on She-ra or the Owl house and doing my considered childish thing because it is what keeps me sane and makes me happy 🙂

6. Enforcing boundaries.

   Everyone needs them, and not everyone can enforce them. The fact that i can enforce them is commendable and i will not be shamed for that

7. myself.

   I have always been weird, but I was bullied and made fun for it, came to a time I was so ashamed that I just became a blank wall, I tought I had nothing to offer so I offered nothing.

   But now, fuck that! I’m weird and proud, I’m extravagant, I take up space and I love it! This weirdness is were I shine now.
   People praise me for it, I know I get lots of attention, took me some getting used to but I do like it.

   Some people might still judge me, but that’s a they problem.

8. Mental Illness. It’s still a huge stigma, it’s not talked about, and people do still try to shame me for it.

9. Reading fanfiction. There are some stories out there better than any published stuff I’ve read. And it’s free! And available at any time! And it’s characters I’m already emotionally invested in! Wins all around.

10. Being such an introvert that I can spend days by myself. A few friends are constantly trying to get me to join clubs/groups, etc. I used to feel really guilty or ashamed of myself for not following their advice. Now I must accept that I yam what I yam.

11. I was ashamed i wasn’t as strong as all of my guy friends, as now i understand that i could never be so strong because i am a girl unless i did testosterone shots.

12. Saying “no” to things, especially when I need time alone to gain my energy back.

13. When I’m over-emotional, I tend to cry. Really happy – cry. Laugh too hard – cry. Really sad – cry. Angry – cry. Basically, any emotion that is heightened sets me off crying. It used to embarrass me but not anymore. It’s just the way I am. My partner & my work colleagues have learned to accept it & either hug me or laugh with me.

14. My past relationship. It was abusive. There, I said it. I was so ashamed of that that I couldn’t bring myself to ask for help getting out.

    Now that I’m out, yeah, I’ll talk about it. Happily. To anyone. Because I never thought I’d wind up in that situation. I thought I was too smart for that, too sure of myself. I was wrong. It really is that easy to find yourself in a terrible situation.

    My colleagues now are surprised because they never saw any of it when I was with him because I buried it but it’s part of who I am and talking about it has helped me heal from it.

15. I was ashamed of my looks and my body. I’m not sure what happened but around when I was 21 or 22 I started having a mental shift. I looked in the mirror and said ‘ hey, I’m not that bad looking’ and then it got better from there. I still do it today.

16. My body. I’m not super skinny and I’m short and round. I have big boobs, slender hips, a soft tummy and I have to dress well to accentuate the parts. I used to hate my boobs but now I accept them.

17. In my early-mid teens I used to feel really ashamed about my sexuality, I was coming to terms with it and felt kind of terrified about how people would be towards me and that there was something wrong with me but when I came out a little later and my dad and my friends were really supportive and great(even though my mum wasn’t) I felt like a huge weight was lifted and later met my amazing wife and I’m not ashamed one bit of being in love with her!.

    Also suffering from depression, I used to feel really awkward about telling people I didn’t know well, I feet really judged and there is still a stigma about it but I feel this much less than I used to because lots of others have been brave enough to be more open about it.