Over the Top

by Jonathan Van Ness

Like Maya Angelou taught me, I was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst,

The power we assign to people is the power we give them

I had more importantly learned the worth of saying “This isn’t worth it.”

When the people around you believe in you and your potential wholeheartedly, you can make your dreams come true.

At the end of the day, the people we let in our space affect our ability to get to where we want to go, so if they’re in the way of realizing your potential, it’s okay to disconnect because you must choose yourself.

If you’re reading this with my voice in your head, now switch the voice in your head to Moira Rose, played by Catherine O’Hara, on Dan Levy’s Schitt’s Creek.

Fake it till you make it and make it look graceful.

Some days are easier than others, but I’m always trying to learn and do my best.

My default is to be really critical of myself, but the world will do that for me, so I gotta make sure I always know I have my back.

Because at the end of the day, all we can control is ourselves in the vast array of situations we may find ourselves in.

I have come to learn, though, that the more you love and accept yourself, the less you need other people’s approval.

I wanted to share my journey because we have all done things we never thought we could and been places we never thought we would go. Good and bad. As scary as this can be I want you to know no matter how broken you feel, and how seemingly unlikely it is, we are never too broken to heal. More than that, there will be people who love and accept you completely, and there will be people who do not. If you love and accept yourself all the way, no matter what, through thick and thin, then either way you will make it through.