otterandterrier:

Most of the posts I’ve seen so far remember and praise Carrie Fisher for always being fearless, for speaking her mind without shame, for not being afraid to age or expose herself or whatever, and while we absolutely must draw inspiration from that, I think it’s a somehow erroneous message. If you’ve read her books, you know the opposite is true. She was insecure, and afraid, she had body image issues from a young age, the digs from the media and the public about her body or her life did hurt, she always talked in a self-deprecatory way about herself (yes, to be funny, but that’s also the mark of someone who’s really very insecure), she never believed she could be a cool, popular girl. And on top of that, she had a mental illness and addictions that accentuated all those feelings.

But see, that’s what I personally find more inspiring than saying she was “fearless”: the fact that she wasn’t, but she didn’t let it stop her, ever.

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”