Camila Cabello Says Her Anxiety Prevented Her From Singing In Front Of Her Own Family

If you've seen Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's music video for "Señorita," you know that Cabello exudes a ton of confidence. However it wasn't habitually this way. While in much of her life, Camila struggled with such intense anxiety that she couldn't bring herself to sing in front of people — especially her own family member. Fortunately, her passion for performing ultimately drove her to pursue a career as a pop star anyway, and on Sunday (July 21) she took to Instagram to open up about how she conquered her fear.


Cabello started by explaining that, as a child, she simply didn't think she had it in her to prepare it in the music industry. To her, it looked like every successful musician loved performing in front of their families, although the idea of singing for people truly brought tears to her eyes. "I never ever sang in front of my parents or companions and would get flustered if they would ask me to," the "Havana" singer revealed. "I sang in my room any time my parents left for Walmart and cried any time one day I saw them filming me via crack of the door, I got teary eyed any time people sang happy birthday to me because people looking at me actually made me overwhelmed."


So how did Camila conquer her anxiety and find her passion for performing? Well, it definitely wasn't easy. And the simplest way she noticed to explain it is that, according to her, there really are two Camilas — one that's anxious and prefers to play it safe, and another that has a strong wish to push by means of the fear and pursue her dreams. "I feel like my whole life there's been two Camila's in me," she wrote. "There's little Camila that is terrified of unknown, understands all of the ways everything can go wrong, (actually can picture them vividly lol), and thinks it's safer to stay residence than to play ball. Then there's the other Camila. And she understands what she wants out of life, understands 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.'"


These days, the pop star is allowing herself to be who she was truly meant to be, and she wants her fans to know that they can do the same. "The truth is you determine who you're going to be. Daily she wrote. "I’m not talking about talent or successfulness. I just mean the kind of person you're going to be. In case you haven't been very brave, or very social, or wild, or an adventure seeker, in case you describe yourself because the opposite of these things... It doesn't mean you can't be. The other you needs to grab little you by the hand, yank you by the hairs and tell you, 'Let's go.'"


And just because Camila doesn't let her anxiety stop her from achieving her objectives doesn't mean it's not something she still struggles with. As an alternative, she's actively choosing to give far less power to the little voice in her head that tells her she can't do something — which is something we should all strive to do in our daily lives. "Little me hasn't left," Cabello revealed. "I just don’t let her boss me around as much."


message? In case you hope to do something in your own life however feel like it's out of your league, go for it anyway. And rather than comparing yourself to other people and automatically assuming you'll be unsuccessful, believe that you're capable, also. "I felt like sharing because I think some days we visualize other people do things and think 'Ah, well.. That's just not me. I've never been like that.' It’s NOT TRUE," she wrote. "I'm telling you. I went from never wanting to sing in front of my family member to being addicted to performing, from being also anxious to hang out with new people to... Still being a little bit anxious however having The perfect time and making irreplaceable memories. ... You pick who you’re going to be. Force yourself to do what you're afraid of, always- and go immediately after what you want and who you hope to be, because you're worth that. You're worth the fight. It's the most worthwhile one there is."