many years ago i didn't want to be alive. & then i lost my best friend to suicide a week before our joint 21st birthday. it shook my entire world. sometimes my brain thinks he left so i could stay, like a sacrifice. to witness the aftermath of it all. so i could heal & find out who i was supposed to become. sometimes i think that maybe i should have died in order to save him. who knows. he will forever be my hero it's been a journey. a real one. full of grief and growth if you're reading this and it's hard right now, i need you to know something: yes, it's lonely. yes, it's heavy. but it's also so, so beautiful. and there is something bigger waiting for you on the other side of this. it's all a lesson. every single bit of it. the pain, the loss, the confusion, the starting over. you are being shaped. and the more you understand what is placed before you, the more you grow into the master of your own universe. that is your birthright. claim it. do not be afraid or ashamed to reach out to those around you. do not allow time to put pressure on you. time does not exist. start to let go of the shame we were taught to carry. to break the cycles that were never ours to begin with. it's time for the world to see you. all of you. your pain and your beauty and everything in between. we have nothing to lose except disappointing our own souls. i'm so happy to be here. and i'm so happy you're here with me too.