Second paragraph of my book

Thanks to all the encouragement, I'm posting the second paragraph of my book:

I bottomed out, and in those times, you can’t hide anymore. I hit a wall so hard it shook me to the core. For the past six years, I’d been painstakingly working my way up in Hollywood post-production, climbing to a position where I thought I could be more valued. When I got to that level, all my expectations of how my accomplishments would feel didn’t happen. My self-doubts that plagued me on the climb up weren’t cured; I still doubted my abilities, weighing myself against others. And in this new position of responsibility, I felt even more pressure to prove myself. So I worked hard which led to my getting even more responsibility. This gave me confidence that I was actually proving myself. But another voice inside me that gets buried too often rose up and said, “Why are you working harder than others but getting paid less?” This thought started driving me to the brink.

1st Paragraph of my book

Today I thought I'd post the first paragraph of my book, My Year of Living Manifest-fully. To be honest, I'm proud of this paragraph. I have a friend who laughs at me (in a good way) because I happen to be in love with my writing. Perhaps I should feel no shame in this. So with love, here's my first paragraph. I have several more... and more to write... Enjoy and if you feel like sharing your thoughts, that's always appreciated :)

Here's the excerpt:

"I begin my story at a place where perhaps a lot of people land. We think the world is against us, not knowing that the place we’re trapped in comes from what we’ve created. The spot becomes clearer when we’ve moved away from it, like a stain on a pillow. While in it, it’s hard to see. I inhabited a very dark spot. This black, cramped area felt like I was imprisoned or in a mental institution but I was at my job, dying, with my soul bursting to escape. No one could have guessed, with my easy smile and rosy cheeks that as I took a walk during lunch, next to the bustling traffic on a busy road, I wondered how it would feel to let go and fall in the middle of the rushing cars. It took all my strength not to let go and find out."