Glaze Over the Fear: Orange Loaf Cake & the Fear of Being Seen🍊
fresh, citrusy and so moist!
#4: In Full Bloom🌺
Nothing screams spring more than citrusy desserts but it’s always lemons or key limes that get all the hype. Oranges are so underrated when it comes to desserts and I’m not sure why. They’re so perfectly sweet, and who doesn’t love a dessert that tastes like a glass of orange juice😌 Scroll down for the full recipe!
I wanted to take a moment to talk about the fear of being seen. This is a topic that isn’t really talked about much but I know that so many people struggle with it (including myself). If you don’t know what the fear of being seen means, it’s exactly what it sound like. The fear of others seeing you and perceiving you.
I don’t think we’re actually scared of being seen, I think the “perceiving” part is what people are actually afraid of. We’re scared of what others might think of us. We’re afraid to be seen as something we aren’t or maybe even as something we are.
Despite having a pretty large following across all my socials, I struggle a lot with this, which is why the majority of my videos are faceless, voiceless and devoid of literally any personality. For a while, I tried to convince myself that I prefer my videos this way and that I’d rather remain private because nobody needs to know my business. And that’s true in a way. I do like my privacy and I enjoy making ASMR faceless videos (and I’m sure a lot of you follow me for that reason) but deep down, I knew I could do more with my content and I knew I didn’t want to hide forever.
When I first started posting videos, I had so much passion and I loved what I did. It felt so fulfilling and so new. But now that I’ve been doing this for a few years, things have started to feel a bit stagnant as if I’m just going through the motions because I have to do. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE what I do and I’m so grateful for the platform I have, its just things don’t feel the same as it did in the beginning and that’s OKAY. In my heart, I knew something needed to change and that I was ready for more. I knew the next step was to transition into bringing more of myself into my content. I know I have a lot more to offer and to show of myself, but I still couldn’t bring myself to do it because I’m scared. Yes, I used the present tense because I still am scared lol. It can be scary putting yourself out there in front of the world especially in front of people you know. Friends, family, coworkers, people you went to high school with. In my opinion, that’s what held me back the most. The judgement I would receive from the people I knew, even if I don’t talk to them anymore.
But the thing I never realized was I was actually being the judgmental one. In a way, I was judging myself. I believed that others would think of me in the way that I was thinking of myself. I was also judging them. In my mind, I automatically assumed that they would say negative things about me or judge me even if that wasn’t the case at all. I was expecting them to be a villain even if that’s not their character. There’s a bigger possibility that they could be happy for me.
I guess what I’m trying to say is instead of automatically assuming the worst in others and expecting others to judge you, try to challenge that.
Assume that they will support you.
Assume that they will speak positive things about you.
Assume the best in them.
And I know that this won’t be 100% true for everyone. There will be times when you don’t always receive positive support from others and there will be times when people will judge you. But that’s okay. Let them judge you because (this may sound harsh) but anyone who is judging you is most likely not doing better than you. They are almost always projecting their own insecurities and limiting beliefs onto you. They don’t believe they can do whatever you’re doing or have whatever you have so they try to limit you. Secretly, they envy you. Whether it’s your courage to follow your dreams, your ability to express your authentic self, your discipline, etc. So please PLEASE dont let others hold you back from following your dreams. And especially don’t let yourself hold you back. You deserve to be seen whether it’s the good or the “bad”. You deserve to be seen in your entirety, not just when you’re at your best.
Another perspective to keep in mind is that keeping yourself and your gifts hidden is selfish. Selfish in the way that you’re hiding your value from others that could benefit from it. Your gifts could help someone. They could be the very thing that inspires someone else to take action in their own life. Even if you only help one person, that’s still one whole person. And if they then feel inspired to share their gifts, they could help another, and so on. It’s a ripple effect. The more we collectively share our gifts and express ourselves, the better we will all be.
Now, I don’t expect you to go from 0 to 100, but I do ask that you take one small step towards embodying your truest self. Post that video. Volunteer to share your idea at work. Do something totally out of your comfort zone that you know will light you up inside.
Take up space because you deserve to. Let yourself be seen.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp orange zest
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp orange juice
Zest from 1 orange
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a loaf pan. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar and orange zest.
Use your fingers rub the zest into the sugar. Do this for around two minutes.
Add the orange juice, eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla, and beat well to combine.
Whisk through the dry ingredients until combined, but don't over-mix the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for around 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing it and letting it cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, orange zest and orange juice. Drizzle over the cooled loaf.
Yummy 🍊