Life is meant to be lived.
You have to chase the things that ignite you. You
have to do the things that bring you joy. You have
to surround yourself with the people who bring
you back home to yourself, with the people who
respect you and embrace you in ways that make
you feel like you are worthy and accepted and
loved. You have to do the work to heal yourself,
even when it hurts
especially when it hurts, so
that you do not continue to approach your life
within the boundary of what is heavy within you
You have to put yourself out there, and you can-
not worry about what other people think, you
cannot rob yourself of experience or happiness or
inspiration because you are scared of how you
will be perceived. You have to be unapologetic in
the way that you exist here. You have to believe
that your ideas, and your hope, and your being,
deserve to take up space. You have to believe that
you have a purpose.
No one will ever fully be able to understand the internal
battles you had to endure just to heal, just to grow, just
to make it here today. Be proud of the way you fought
to save yourself. Be proud of the way you survived.
Because our existence is finite. And as hard as
that is to understand, as hard as that can be to
connect with, from time to time remind yourself
that in the most human way
we are all living
on borrowed time.
So instead of focusing on the people who left, focus on
the people in your life who have chosen to be there.
Focus on the ones who stayed, on the ones who appre-
ciate you and respect you. Focus on the people who
match the love you give them, focus on the people
who empower you and grow you and make your life