It shouldn’t be this hard to write this. It shouldn’t. I shouldn’t feel drained, hollow, scared, depressed, sad putting the words to page. But I am all those things. I agreed to do it months ago thinking that it would be easy-—a slam dunk. It has not been. I have struggled more with this than almost anything else I’ve written, maybe because the topic opened me up in a way that I wasn’t prepared for, maybe because of how much I fear the response to these words. So I decided to take a different track. Instead of painting around the edges, I am going to attack it head on.
You are not alone
Even when you are surrounded by people who dismiss your feelings and your experiences outright. Even when you are surrounded by people who advocate for feelings and experiences with their words and dismiss them with their actions. Even when you are surrounded by people who really DO advocate for you and their comfort feels like a blanket smothering you.
You are not alone
It is okay. You are okay. It’s okay to hurt. To be afraid. To be less. To be more. It is okay to be happy. It is okay. And so are you. I won’t speak for the world and say that everyone has gone through something like you have. I will only say that I am always surprised that when I speak my truth I find at least one person who knows and understands because my truth and theirs have a lot in common. Even if it’s only edges brushing against each other.
The world may judge us based on what we can or can’t provide. It may tell us we aren’t worth anything unless we are healthy and whole. But that isn’t right. And it isn’t true. It has never been true.
You are enough.
You are beautiful.
You are not alone.
