You Don’t Need To Be Perfect To Be Here

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You don’t have to be perfect to be here

To be loved

To be worthy

I want to know how you feel about your flaws and imperfections

And whether you can sit with the darkness

Mine and your own

And embrace your humanness

Letting yourself feel whole

Even when disowning parts of yourself feels easier

You don’t need to have all the answers

I want to know what you don’t know

And whether you can live in the question

And be a seeker

Even when the uncertainty feels uncomfortable as hell

Can you let

“I don’t know”

Be some of the bravest, most beautiful words

You have ever said

Even when you find self worth in your intelligence

You don’t need to be free of fuck ups

Of mistakes

Of regrets

I want to know if you are willing to be honest

To take responsibility for yourself

And right your wrongs

With grace

I want to know if you are willing to learn

From all of life’s experiences

And show up

No matter what

Willing to do better

Even when you aren’t sure what this entails

You don’t have to be free of hardships

Of baggage

Of broken hearts

Of mental health stuff

I want to know

If you are willing to do the work

To heal

To set yourself free

I want to know

If you can allow what has caused you shame

To become a badge of honor

For you are a warrior

Are you willing

to identify as a survivor

Rather than a victim

I want to know

If you have the courage

To look someone else in the eyes

And say “if I can overcome this, you can, too”

You don’t need to have “all your shit together”

A big house

A nice car

A clean record

A bunch of degrees

From institutions

I want to know

If you are willing to be open-minded

To be kind

To be an explorer

To be a creator

Capable of enjoying the journey

As you let go of old beliefs

And decide for yourself

What “having your shit together” even means

I want to know

If you are willing

To define for yourself

What it means to be successful

Rich

And fulfilled

I want to know

If you can identify

All those things you can do

Rather than all those things you can’t

I want to know

If you are willing to work hard

To make the necessary sacrifices

To have faith