Don’t be afraid, I know that as a writer you sometimes feel like you’re standing naked on stage in front of a large audience of strangers fully exposed and helpless. You want approval of your opinions, thought processes, emotions, and talent. You fear being ridiculed, unaccepted for who you are and criticized. I’ll be perfectly honest and say that all writers feel this way in the beginning, some feel this all throughout their career. This nasty self doubt that starts to gnaw at you each time you pick up a blank piece of paper or stare at the white screen of your laptop. Kazuo Ishiguro was a writer who had this self doubt his entire life. But he had a very successful career and in 2017 won the Nobel Prize in Literature. There are many, many writers here at Medium who are really good and nice people. You will gain many friends and supporters on this site. I found your article to be honest, really articulate and most importantly highly relatable and enjoyable to read. A job well done and Thank You for this article, Jodi!