The Vampire Codex:

by Michelle Belanger

Our culture teaches us that we cannot stand on our own. We cannot know something just because we know it; we need authentic degrees and certificates in order to prove our knowledge and understanding to others. If we are to amount to anything, we need approval. And from youth upwards, it is ingrained in us to seek this approval -- from parents, from teachers, from friends, from our bosses at work -- from everywhere.

Regardless of our own self-worth, regardless of how satisfied we are with our own lives, unless these other people approve of us, we are taught to feel worthless. Even the most independent and rebellious among us feels a little twinge at being called "crazy" or "freak" or told that we're deluded or sick or hopelessly lost in a fantasy world.

It's very hard not to let this universal disapproval of our ideals and our ways make us doubt ourselves from time to time. But it is the doubt and the fear of disapproval that keeps so many of us from discovering ourselves and opening ourselves up to the vast lifetimes of knowledge we already carry within.

Before you doubt yourself any further, ask yourself -- who is the real authority on your life? Is it someone outside of you, who has never experienced the things you've experienced or felt the things that you've felt? The only authority on your life is you -- so seek approval there first. Trust those little whispers of guidance offered by your inner Self. If you are satisfied with what it tells you, what does it matter what anyone else has to say?