When does it start?

I met a friend for lunch today and she brought her daughter who I had never met before so it was good for me to meet her as well as I loved catching up with CS. Her daughter loves to play basketball, but she doesn't play anymore. I asked her why not, and even though she wouldn't tell me, I drove away wondering, "Is that when it starts?" When we allow others to dictate what we do. When we start to overthink about how it looks to others. When we believe more about what others think than what we think. When are we going to be strong enough to start ignoring all the mumbo jumbo that gets thrown at us every day? When? Does it start when you are 10 and have no idea what life is really like? How many of us would love to know what we know now, but go back and use that knowledge to maybe change some things we wish we could have done differently? I was given a wonderful book for my birthday from Rocky this past year and it's about women who wrote themselves a letter at a particularly difficult time in their life, based on what they learned from going through that experience. I have often thought about completing an exercise similar to that, but not sure what event was so pivotal in my life that a letter would make a difference. I have learned a lot about why I am the way I am and cannot think of one single thing that happened when I can recollect when my life took a dramatic turn. Let's assume that we may never know when we stop believing in ourselves and allow others dictate what we do next. Does it even have to start? No, it doesn't. That is why the G.I.F.T. exists...because we don't want it to start. One member, SM has a daughter and she is trying to teach her not to be afraid of life, regardless of what life shows you. What is we encouraged this generation of pre-teens, teens, and young women to never have fear and to always show their MOXIE? When you have one woman who refuses to back down from prejudice and taunts made by others. Courage comes in many forms and in many ways. It means being strong when you feel your knees getting ready to buckle. It means smiling when you know the tears are just ready to fall. It means believing more in yourself regardless of what is said about you. It means it doesn't have to start, but needs to end. Most of the time, I say "It Starts Today", but in this case I will say, "It ends today."