First, self-consciousness. There is a lady in my art class who doesn't seem to have any of it. She speaks her mind loudly and most opinionatedly all the time. When a slide is shown, she'll say 'it sucks' even if the work is displayed in one of the local museums. It's not that she's standing up for herself, she's actually being obnoxious and calling other people's opinions wrong, etc. But the interesting thing is that the entire class is aware of this. We all look at each other each time she speaks in such a manner. It's so obvious to everyone that she's being rude that I always wonder why it isn't to her. Can she really not tell? Is it that she doesn't care? Or that she's totally unaware? As I live my life on this side of dangerously aware, I often find myself wondering about people who have overcome the trap of self-consciousness.

Now onto the second word. Self-confidence. As someone who seems to have a collection of achievements and a total lack of self-confidence, I am interested in what makes people so self-secure. I certainly didn't lack any love, on the contrary, my family made me feel appreciated and loved at all times. They've told me repeatedly how proud of me they feel. Same for friends. I have a loving boyfriend with whom I've spent the last six years of my life and real dependable friends. What is the answer? What is it that I seem to be missing? The one thing that will make everything click and have me feel better about myself. How do some people turn out confident while others, like me, worry about every little thing? Is everyone secretly self-conscious?

Sorry about all this self-pity. I guess thinking about my novel makes me ponder a lot about humankind and what makes it tick.

Before?