While Camila Cabello is one of the biggest pop stars in the world today, with multiple hit singles and concerts that place her in the spotlight in front of thousands of people, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t struggle with the same anxiety as everyone else.
The singer took to Instagram on Sunday to share an inspiring pair of posts detailing her own past battle with self-confidence, stage fright and embarrassment, which she still struggles with today, and the fear she had when she was young that her nervousness was going to keep her from reaching her dreams.
“I remember growing up hearing stories of the singers I loved, all the stories sounded the same, kids who would grow up performing for their families and putting on talent shows for their parents when they were little who grew up to be dazzling to me. I was the opposite,” Cabello captioned a photo of herself laying on a couch with her two dogs. “I never ever sang in front of my parents or friends and would get flustered when they would ask me to.”
“I sang in my room when my parents left for Walmart and cried when one day I saw them filming me through the crack of the door. I got teary eyed when people sang happy birthday to me because people looking at me actually made me overwhelmed,” she continued. “I was generally incredibly nervous and socially anxious when I was little; and people always have this look of disbelief when I tell them that.”
The “Havana” singer said she recently got that same look during an interview when she explained her past experiences with performance anxiety.
“I feel like my whole life there’s been two Camila’s in me. There’s little Camila that is terrified of the unknown, is aware of all the ways everything can go wrong, (actually can picture them vividly lol), and thinks it’s safer to stay home than to play ball. Then there’s the other Camila. And she knows what she wants out of life, is aware of how little time I have to let little Camila run the show while time passes by, and grabs young me by the hand and forces her out the door saying ‘Let’s go. You’ll survive, and I’m not gonna miss out on this. Let’s go.’ And that is literally how I can sum up how I’ve gotten to this point in my life.”
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“I remember feeling discouraged when I felt like some people were just ‘born’ to do things,” the singer continued in her lengthy message to fans. “That they always had it in them. ‘They were always this outgoing, they always loved to entertain, they were always this bold, they were always this outspoken.’ The truth is you decide who you’re going to be. Every day.”
“I’m not talking about talent or success. I just mean the type of person you’re going to be. If you haven’t been very brave, or very social, or wild, or an adventure seeker, if you describe yourself as the opposite of those things… it doesn’t mean you can’t be,” Cabello explained. “The other you needs to grab little you by the hand, yank you by the hairs and tell you, ‘Let’s go.'”
Cabello said that the voice in her head that scares her into not wanting to perform or makes her afraid of pursuing her dreams still exists, and still tries to affect her, but she no longer allows it to dictate her life or decisions.
“I felt like sharing because I think sometimes we see other people do things and think ‘Ah, well.. that’s just not me. I’ve never been like that.’ It’s NOT TRUE. I’m telling you. I went from never wanting to sing in front of my family to being addicted to performing, from being too anxious to hang out with new people to… still being a little anxious but having THE BEST time and making irreplaceable memories,” she shared. “The essence of me is the same, but i’ve changed so much as a person.”
Ultimately, the singer stressed, “You choose who you’re going to be.”
“Force yourself to do what you’re afraid of, always- and go after what you want and who you want to be, because you’re worth that,” she concluded. “You’re worth the fight. It’s the most worthwhile one there is. Love you.”
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