The Strength In Our Scars

You are the one
who built your walls.

Don’t ever doubt for a second
that you have the capacity
to tear them down.

The things that hurt you
may have left scars,
but they did not destroy you.
You survived,
and there is hope in that.

Do not become the kind of person

who hurts.

Do not let the world

make you hard.

Trust me when I say—be the person who cares. Because the world doesn’t need any more carelessness, any more disregard; because there is nothing stronger than someone who continues to stay soft in a world that hasn’t always been kind to them.

Your heart is more than just a cemetery for those who disappeared.

Your body is more than just a graveyard for those who could not love it.

For even at your worst, when you are not a shining example of everything you want to be, when life is handing you hardships and hurt, the person who is right for you will still choose you. Even when you do not deserve it, the person who is right for you will still love you.

No, sometimes courage isn’t a big declaration, a common accomplishment. Sometimes courage is the way you slowly comb them out of your hair; sometimes courage is hearing their voice in public and not turning your head or having your stomach feel like a shaken-up can of soda. Sometimes courage is smiling for your younger sister when your heart is breaking; sometimes it’s telling her that love exists even on the days you simply don’t believe it does.

There are people who will show up for you and care for you.

There is more to life than the person who walked away from you.