To the reader that wrote me back:

Thank you for sharing your story with me. I know it probably wasn’t easy, but it makes me so proud that I gave you the courage to write that story to me. You’ve demonstrated the purpose of my blog perfectly. Thank you, as well, for your kind donation. Your response to my blog was unexpected, but greatly appreciated. Thank you, also, for teaching me a new phrase in a new language! Sawubona sisi in Zulu means, “I see you, sister.” This phrase precisely fits the kind of reaction and feeling I hope to elicit with my writing.

Although we’ve had different experiences, going through those traumas allow us to connect and understand one another on a different level. Instead of being an outsider looking into the story, we can see each other eye-to-eye as neighbors who have been through the same walk home.

I hope to continue inspiring you and giving you the courage to stand up for yourself, because the first step is sharing your story. Once you are able to share your darkest moments thus far with another soul, getting it off your chest is an insurmountable weight being lifted. It empowers you. And it doesn’t even matter how the other soul reacts; it’s the fact that you put your history into the universe because it happened – it mattered. You exist and you take up space in the world, just like any other person.

There is no shame in going through hardships in your life. It is what makes you stronger. It thickens your skin, builds your boundaries, and shows you what really matters in your life: yourself. The only person carrying you into the next day, every day, is yourself. Even if you rely on a partner, family member, or close friend while you’re down in the dumps – you ultimately create your own fate. You can always choose to end your life, but you don’t, and only you can make that choice. There is power in having an option, a choice, control in your life.

There is more to life than love, money, and nice things. There is more to live for than “it’ll get better.” What you live for is discovering yourself, healing, and learning how to trust and love yourself once again. It is always easiest to move through time when you have a great support system and anchor keeping you grounded, but it is you that takes those steps and moves through time to heal.