In Herself, She Will Find the Strength She Needs

  “Don't let someone Else's opinion of you become your reality.”― Les Brown

I saw this quote today and it made me think.  This is something we are all guilty of doing at some point in our lives.  Perhaps, we have been in a relationship of some kind that wasn't healthy.  This could be with a friend or a lover.  I know this has been true for me.  
I have been called every bad name in the book!  Stupid, idiot, bitch, asshole, jerk and probably so many others, I can't think of them all now.  There has also been a time in my life that I believed these things.  I am just as guilty as the next person of letting the opinion of others constitute my personal feelings about me.  
I think this is a sign of immaturity, at least on my part.  I also think there have been times when I deserved to be called an asshole or worse.  However, I do not think at any point, for any reason, it is acceptable for anyone to make you feel like you are a lesser person or not good enough.  I have heard that people like to talk about others and put them down because it makes them feel better about themselves.  I call bullshit.  Making someone else feel bad about themselves, especially intentionally, is simply being a jerk.
I have been told repeatedly that I was not good enough or smart enough.  I believed it for a while, long enough to allow my self pity to help me make a ton of huge mistakes.
 I say, "NO MORE!"

I am going to keep working really hard, and I am going to do all the things that I want to do.  I am going to get my Doctorate and teach wherever I want.  I am going to write a book or ten.  I am going to be happy. “Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” Theodore Isaac Rubin
Lord help anyone who stands in my way!