confidence / my word for 2014

I've decided to participate in this challenge hosted by ohdeardrea and other bloggers. 

I've given this a lot of thought, about what I want to accomplish in 2014. There are a lot of things I would like to accomplish in 2014 and there were a lot of words I thought of before this one. But this word isn't so much about what I want to accomplish, but more so what I should and need to accomplish. The word I've chosen as my "word for 2014" is confidence which is something I lack in almost every aspect of my life.

Somewhere along in the way in my life, I lost my confidence and the ability to stand up for myself. At some point in my life, I decided it would be okay if I let other people push their beliefs onto me even if I didn't agree with them because I was afraid of what others might think of me. And I knew it what was happening when it was happening, but I was afraid to speak up for myself so I just kept letting it go until eventually all my confidence was gone. But while I was working today, I realized that this is something I desperately need to work on especially since I'm in my twenties now. I need to learn to stand up for myself and live my life the way I want to and not second doubt myself just because everyone else is doubting me. Other people aren't me; they don't know what I want, but I know what I want and no one will be as sorry as me if I don't live my life the way I want to live it.

(How awesome is it that I found that quote in under 30 seconds while trying to look for it. I didn't think I was actually going to find it. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Also my first time using Picmonkey - thought I'd try it out.)

This year is the year I'm going to go after what I want, because like the quote says no one will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. Everyone will always have opinions on what you're doing, but that doesn't mean they're right about it. And it doesn't mean you have to believe everything they say either. It's great to have advice, but in the end, it's your own opinion that matters the most. If I want something, I'm going to put all my effort into it and achieve it. I need to be confident and believe in myself, and believe that I can achieve whatever it is that I want to achieve.

I will make 2014 count by speaking up when I don't agree with something, when someone is saying something intentionally offensive to me, putting my health first because that is what's most important to me even if others don't agree, among many other things. I will make 2014 count by accomplishing my goals which include getting my AA degree, quitting my job, moving if I decide that's what I want to do, running a half-marathon or maybe even my first marathon!, going on a road trip, asking for help if I need it, but most of all, I will make 2014 count by believing in myself and finding my confidence again because I know that deep down, it's still in there somewhere. (I did not intend on this post being so long, oops!)

 To end with this, here is a picture of me snorkeling in Hawaii last August when I didn't care about what other people thought about my body and it felt amazing and liberating. The first time I went snorkeling back in middle school sucked because I was too self-conscious to actually enjoy it and I ended up having a horrible time with a lot of saltwater in my mouth. (P.S. Snorkeling is awesome and you should definitely try it sometime if you haven't yet! It gets even more amazing when you take off that life jacket.)

• If you're also participating in this, what is your word for 2014? And what are your goals relating to that word?
• Or even if you aren't, what would be your word for 2014?