Nothing to See Here

Teenagers are always asking me: 
“How do I get brave?”
A lot of that answer lies in situations like these. 
When you are forced to sit down, reckon with a situation, listen to people screaming that they hate you, take stock of what you’ve done, look everyone in the eye, tell them what your intentions are, and know that they will either hear and understand you or they will walk away.
And then your job is to not run after them. 
Your job is to stay calm. Your job is continue on with your work. 
And the hardest thing, sometimes, is to continue on with your work in a spirit of love, without letting other people’s hate and anger getting the best of you, and turning you into bitter, angry and jaded fuck.
It’s so easy to be afraid. To do nothing. To not make your art, to not follow your calling, your passion, your impulses, to not take any risks for fear of people cutting you down and misunderstanding you. 
Most people are controlled by fear, because they’re convinced they’ll do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, write the wrong thing, sing the wrong thing.
 Those fears are founded. You can see that, here, now.
 Shit happens, you can upset people.
And you need to do your work anyway, because the world needs you to.
That, I think, is how you get brave.

—Amanda Palmer (via funinthecorner)