Encouragement

I was scrolling through the free On-Demand movies (because I'm cheap) and came across old Disney Channel movies. Since I hadn't seen it in a long time, I decided to watch Read it and Weep. For those of you who don't know, this movie is about a freshman girl in high school accidentally publishing her diary and getting nation-wide recognition for it, while also managing to destroy her social life. Anyways, the  movie depressed me. It's unrealistic, but it hurts to think that after one shot at something this character was able to get a publishing deal and a publicist. All while I'm here with my self-published book feeling a tad ashamed of myself. I mean, come on, anyone can self-publish a book. A person could be illiterate and still get their book self-published. It doesn't matter how well you write, because you are literally paying the people to publish your work. Depressing, right?
Well, I walk up stairs dejected at thinking all of this through and turn on the radio. It's tuned in to Kicks 99.5 (a country station) and what comes out of the speakers catches my attention. Maddie and Tae are singing their song Fly (it doesn't matter if you've heard it or not because I'm about to put the lyrics up). And after that horrible feeling of failure this is what I hear—

Baby blue staring in the window
Pane just counting drops of rain
Wondering if she's got the guts to
Take it.
Running down her dream in a dirty
dress, now her heart's a mess
Praying she will find a way to make it.

So keep on climbing, though the
Ground might shake
Just keep on reaching though the 
Limb might break
We've come this far. don't you be
Scared now
Cause you can learn to fly on the
Way down.

Call it what you want. Call it coincidence or call it divine intervention. Heck, call it encouragement from the Fates or nothing at all. The only thing I know for sure is that I never want to stop writing. I just want to get to that level of skill that will allow me to accomplish tradition publishing. I don't care if I succeed economically. My only goal is to be good enough, to write good enough, to be that person that deserves what they get. No, I don't want it to come without a struggle, but the fight to get there is a draining one that leaves me with many unanswered questions. This is an up hill battle and I'm at the bottom.
Yes, I'll complain and whine and rant about how unfair it seems sometimes, but...in a way... I don't think I would have it any different. It's teaching me things that I don't think every author gets taught. It's teaching me patience, building me a back bone, and showing me how to be my own teacher. This is an experience I wish more authors went through.

Stay strong, my loves, the sun rises just before the dawn.
SKW