There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must take their past and put it there—
in the past.
Easier
said than done, sometimes. Your past experiences shape you. But the fact
remains that those who have been mistreated must decide, at a certain point,
who it is they want to be. And if that person who they want to be is important
enough to them, they will fight to become that someone. Someone they can be
proud of.
I was writing a letter to a friend of mine, as a simple, kind gesture, and it turned into this. A message to all the survivors out there who have lived a difficult life, made mistakes, acted on bad decisions, and let the weight of their past pull them under until they either hit bottom and bruised themselves or someone reached in and pulled them out.
Those of you who stand tall and strong although you still struggle, you are heroes. If you have chosen the more difficult path of self-love, generosity, kindness, and empathy, you are a champion.
The great thing about this is that you can decide at sixteen or sixty and you have still won. If you falter, you stand up straight again. There is a chance no one noticed. There is a chance no one cares. Because you continue to respect yourself and those around you. Because these people know it is so much easier to walk the other path but that you have chosen this arduous one.
So, to my friend who this letter was for, and to all my other friends and family who have chosen to become someone they are proud to be, I would like to take this opportunity, as small as it may be, to use a tiny virtual corner of the world to honor you.
You are extraordinary.
I was writing a letter to a friend of mine, as a simple, kind gesture, and it turned into this. A message to all the survivors out there who have lived a difficult life, made mistakes, acted on bad decisions, and let the weight of their past pull them under until they either hit bottom and bruised themselves or someone reached in and pulled them out.
Those of you who stand tall and strong although you still struggle, you are heroes. If you have chosen the more difficult path of self-love, generosity, kindness, and empathy, you are a champion.
The great thing about this is that you can decide at sixteen or sixty and you have still won. If you falter, you stand up straight again. There is a chance no one noticed. There is a chance no one cares. Because you continue to respect yourself and those around you. Because these people know it is so much easier to walk the other path but that you have chosen this arduous one.
So, to my friend who this letter was for, and to all my other friends and family who have chosen to become someone they are proud to be, I would like to take this opportunity, as small as it may be, to use a tiny virtual corner of the world to honor you.
You are extraordinary.
