“What are you waiting for?”

Every time this question pops into my head, I cringe. I think back on the hours I spent in my room staring at a screen, the countless days I spent procrastinating goals and the years that went by where nothing changed.

Being a teenager, I sometimes forget that I control my life. I have the power to change it. I get caught up in school work and unnecessary stress, and I have trouble taking risks because of self doubt. However, I understand that if I want something bad enough, I can get it.

My dad was someone who turned his life around completely. When he was six, his dad died in a car accident. His mom was left to raise my dad and aunt by herself, working as a lunch lady for the nearby elementary school.

My dad told me stories of how he was bullied because of his ragged clothes. He was scared to ride the bus to school and felt ashamed because he wasn’t rich. People told him that he would never amount to anything, and for a while, he believed them.

However, one day, he came to a realization: he had the power to change his life. When he graduated from high school, he went into the nursing program at Baptist Health College in Little Rock. He met my mom there, and she saw how hardworking my dad was. He stayed after hours with the older nurses, soaking up all the information he could. He had his mind set on being the best at what he did, and from what my mom has told me, he was. By the time they got married, my dad was known as the nurse who could answer any question, no longer the shy kid who was embarrassed to ride the bus every day.

After my mom and dad were married for a few years, they bought a computer. My dad thought about turning toward the internet for a job. After months of searching, he found a job marketing credit cards for businesses. His friends told him that he was crazy, and that it was impossible to make good money online. He continued working as a nurse while simultaneously working on the marketing business at home.

My dad wasn’t sure how things were going to go, but as the months went by, the business became more successful. He realized that he was making enough money to quit his nursing job, and after 20 years, his business is still doing well.

My dad told me that he wanted to be successful, not for himself, but for his children. He never wanted us to feel like we were stuck; he never wanted us to feel like we couldn’t change our lives. So, every now and then, he’ll tell me his story to remind me that anything is possible. The only thing getting in my way is me.

Changing your life is something that only you can do. It can be hard to understand that the control is in your hands. How you react to things, the way you feel and your dreams are all things only you can achieve.

From what I’ve learned from my dad, we’re all asking ourselves the wrong questions. Instead of constantly asking, “What if I fail?” we should ask, “What am I waiting for?”