Suzanne,
I never played you, but from what I hear you have a game and your progress is remarkable.
you say
It has been a rocky journey and I have enjoyed it but I now know that I can never be as good as I would like to be and so the dream ends.
Who said so?
If this is what you are saying to yourself then perhaps you might be right. As you must believe in yourself then there is nothing to stop you from being a good player or even great. If you feel that your progress is too slow or at the moment you can't play your best game, a bit of break from playing and perhaps taking time to read and improve some skills will benefit your game immensely.
If someone else told you this then why their point is valid? And why would you care? many people were told they will never do anything with their lives, but only those who decided for themselves what they are capable of have succeeded.
I was reading recently an interview with Tiger Woods, exceptional sportsman, who at some point decided to work on his game and as a result he was not doing very well in the competitions. As usual pple were saying he is on his way out. They were wrong. He and other top sportsmen/women approach the journey to their ultimate success with great pragmatism. They look at every set back as a motivation to do better and they treat those set backs as a necessity to success in long run.
The mtt that I worked so hard to win was a great thrill but as was pointed out to me... did I really deserve a place in the Hall of Fame.
I sense that the phrase - as was pointed out to me- is one of the keys for your post.
Well you did not put yourself there, many thought you have deserved it as most likely you have been working hard on your game and you have achieved the result, your first win. This forum is not meant to be for only top players who had their first win 60 years ago. This forum is a place where all beginners and veterans meet to talk about poker and other trivial things in life.
Why would you care what a person says to you?
Have you thought that perhaps some players who read this forum, and are absolute beginners might find your place in hall of fame as an inspiration?
Gl with whatever you do, but please don't listen to one or two people and tell them to get lost.
If anyone makes a point of trying to ruin your self esteem there is always a reason behind this, but you are never the reason.
You will meet people who try to knock you down everywhere in life, you have a choice either to listen to them and fail, or listen to you heart/friends and succeed.
Gl with your decision, and I hope nxt post from you will be another success story in whatever you decide to do (let's hope this will be poker game)