When The Nights Get Painfully Long, Remember This

Trigger warning: self-harm

You are a soul of cardinal opposites. The fire that burns inside you is always under the threat of being extinguished by the water and stars that your body is composed of. It is no wonder, with such a storm inside you, that you have so many times tried to let some of yourself out through your veins.

How many times can fragile wrists and yielding thighs withstand the force and jagged ends of worn down razors? The answer can only grow in response every time you allow yourself to cut into your own body like the blade is scissors and you merely a sheet of construction paper. Remind yourself that your skin is not a craft, that you are a whole piece, that you are a human being that the universe gave life to. You spend nine months growing from and being nourished by your mother and 18 years being guided and encouraged every step of the way. If you believe that every living thing has value, then strive to find that worth within yourself instead of giving yourself away like spare change.

Look into your eyes and see the ocean that flows within them. See the past happiness in your laugh lines and the growth that your stretch marks have come from—the marks that prove that no matter how much you may expand, you are still the same girl with the same world inside of you.

When the nights get painfully long, when your heart is heavy and your eyes are stinging, remember the night that you were held and reminded that you are not a burden. You are a person, and you are just as deserving of love as anyone else is. Remember that your happiness depends on no one else, only your own recollection of the fact that you deserve the world. Do not allow yourself to settle for less.