I finally decided to write a post on journaly. I signed up a month ago but haven't made a post yet. For some reason it's nerve wracking to put yourself out there and get critiqued by strangers. Though this community seems to be genuinely nice and wants to help one another, which makes it a lot easier to finally take the plunge.
So why would I be nervous to post something on here?
Everyone who knows me personally thinks that my English is incredibly good and that I'm some sort of English wizard.
Guess what, I'm not.
It's great getting recognition for something you're relatively good at, but this in turn creates these annoyingly high expectations you're desperately trying to maintain. Worst case, anxiety kicks in and you're trying to get rid of this unpleasant feeling in the pit of your stomach by procrastinating or giving up altogether.
There is also this looming feeling of Impostor syndrome in the back of my mind. What if I'm not as good as I think, or others think I am? Posting on here would expose the truth I might not be ready for.
This post is an attempt to put a small crack in these mental chains holding me back.
It's okay to make mistakes and it's okay to be nervous about making mistakes.
Hey there! Glad to see you make your first post! I feel like I'm in the same boat. I struggle with pretty severe anxiety and that dreaded imposter syndrome, and it makes it difficult for me to get things done. I also just made my first post today after signing up a month ago. I hope that this community will help both of us! 😊
Good post! I have the same issue. I actually have this happen when doing corrections like "Wait! Is there a question mark after "Guess what" or no?" in my native language. :D
I think your English is phenomenal - and I'm a professional editor for a major publishing house. The few corrections you have are mostly stylistic, but for the most part, you write just as well or better than a lot of natives 😉 As far as mistakes, I think you're missing the point - the thing is TO make mistakes so that you (and others who read your posts) can learn from them. I look forward to your future posts. Great work!
Awesome job!! I think your friends are right - you are an English wizard ;). But seriously, this was an extremely well written piece and I really enjoyed reading it! I understand how you feel about living up to high standards!
Your English is very good in this post! I also experience Imposter syndrome with my family and my Spanish even though I'm a very beginner. Since I understand a little bit of Spanish, my family thinks I am fluent because I understand more than they do. I know what you mean and I'm also here to better my language skills.
Your English is nearly perfect. I've come across texts written by native speakers that aren't as good as your post. Keep going with it.
I wish I could answer comments individually. I hope this reaches all of you somehow. I contemplated deleting this post a few times, and I'm glad I didn't. I was even too nervous to come back to this post to read your comments, hence my late reply. I'm extremely thankful for every correction and all of your kind words. Reading your comments definitely saved my day. Thanks again.