When did it become ok to treat you like you are worth nothing? When did it become normal to get told every day  that you aren’t worth the air you breathe? When did it become ok for the people in your life that promised to protect you, to hold you to a higher standard, to build you up and make you want to be a better person… When did it become ok to destroy you? When did you stop believing in yourself so much that you stopped believing in others too? Why is it so easy for you to spread the same destructive cancerous words that you were fed for so long… Breaking down those you loved.
It breaks my heart to watch you hurt, knowing that you let those poisonous words in, deeper and deeper every time you are cut. I know you constantly fight with yourself. First wondering why someone would say that to you. Then letting the words become part of you. Eventually, searching for the truth behind every word. You began to justify it, after all, why would you hear it so much if it wasn’t true? Then the justification became validation. They were right, every time. Why didn’t you always see the damaged, broken, useless, person that you are… That you have always been.
But, they weren’t right.
You aren’t damaged, just different.
You aren’t broken, just seasoned.
You are far from useless.
What they have told you are imperfections, are beautiful uniquenesses.
Your pain is what drives you. That pain that you think no one understands. It motivates you to make decisions the rest of them can’t make sense of. Because they haven’t had to feel what you’ve felt, lived what you’ve lived. They’ve never died inside like you have because you tried and someone told you you’re a failure.
Because you tried, you will never be a failure.
Because you love with your entire soul, you’ll hurt with the same intensity, but it doesn’t make you less of a person. It means you have a bigger heart.
When you feel alone, broken, beaten and feel like giving up. Know that I believe in you. I believe in your future. I believe in your dreams. I believe in your hopes. I believe you are capable, purposeful and stronger than you will realize for awhile. I believe you are going to pull yourself up from that dark, hopeless place and stand up with no guilt, shame or baggage. You will accomplish whatever you put your mind to, because of the things you once called imperfections. You don’t need to listen to those words, the ones that are spoken from mouths of people who are discontent with their ability to see the world the way you do. They fear the power they can sense you have, because they don’t understand. They were told they would be failures as well. The difference is if you choose to believe them, or listen to the voice inside that tells you,
You are strong.
You are beautiful, inside and out.
You are worth it.
You are capable.
Your dreams are in your reach.
You mean something to someone.
As long as you don’t give up, you are going to change the world.