Be kind to yourself today.

Look at yourself and know that you can make it through anything.

It is no secret that life is hard.

It is difficult in the most obvious way.

And although life should not have to be like this, it somehow always turns out to be.

So be kind to yourself today.

Make sure that when you walk out of your door, you understand your value.

Make sure you know your worth.

Because people might try and tell you otherwise.

So be sure to be kind to yourself today.

If the way you look is getting you down, do something to make yourself feel better.

Wear that cozy sweater, eat your favorite meal, dance to your favorite song.

If you are sad about losing a friend or upset about a relationship,

spend the day with someone who makes you smile.

If you are hurting for no reason at all and you are just in pain because of your mere existence,

get a hug from someone.

Let someone be there when you cry.

Let someone pray for you.

Once you let someone in and you show yourself an act of mercy,

it will just come naturally.

It is realizing that you deserve kindness that is the hardest part.

It is the conscious decision to let yourself have a break, to give yourself some space, to let yourself breathe.

Because we are programmed to push ourselves.

We are born with the feeling of never being enough, never achieving enough and never having enough to give.

For me personally, it has taken a very long time to realize that life is hard enough without me contributing to the vicious cycle.

There are already too many people trying to tear me down.

There are already enough people telling me what I am doing isn’t right or what I am saying doesn’t matter.

That my opinion is too loud. Or that I don’t speak up enough.

I am already intrinsically alone,

so why would I isolate myself from… myself?

It is no wonder that we beat ourselves down so much that sometimes we feel defeated.

Worn down.

Totally and completely worthless.

But I am not.

I am worth something.

In fact, I am worth a great deal.

And you? You are worth more than you could ever know.

So please be kind to yourself today.

Make the conscious effort to put yourself on a path of compassion and forgiveness.

Make it your mission to thrive on your self-worth, before you ever notice anyone else’s praise.

Make it a goal to see that you matter.

Because I promise you do.

I will leave you with a poem I wrote about two weeks ago.

I had realized that although I am proud to be on my own, 20 years old, single and living a life I have come to love, I still was unconsciously waiting for a special someone to notice me.

To get me.

To make me feel special.

But I realized, nothing is going to happen if I wait.

I am not going to improve my life trying to force someone in that doesn't want to be there.

So I decided to let that hope go.

I decided that love from a significant other would never change the way I feel about myself and my situation.

So I decided I needed to be kind to myself.

To make sure I felt cared for by myself, because I cannot rely on anyone else to pick up the pieces.

And this is it:

I bought flowers for myself today

I bought flowers for myself today

The ones you had picked for me, I threw away.

Your gesture was kind, your thoughts were good,

but you cannot love me the way that you should.

It is no secret- like your flowers I’m dying.

The only water I get are the tears that I’m crying.

Like the rising sun our love bloomed too quickly and night came too soon,

And you left me alone in the light of the moon.

You planted a flower I thought was worth growing,

but with time it covered my garden, my own flowers stopped showing.

I had to start weeding out the ones you had grown

and had to undo all the seeds you had sown.

I missed seeing my own, their colors so bright,

But you overpowered me and soon they were nowhere in sight.

Now that you’re gone, It is Spring all the time,

they will keep growing forever, they will never die.

Sure Winter will come and the rain will pour down,

But they will only grow stronger, they will rise from the ground.

You see, I do not need you anymore,

or the flowers you left at the foot of my door.

No, I don’t need you and I never have

you just showed up at the right place while your timing was bad.

You saw me at my weakest and you pulled me in,

and held me close to the glue you call skin.

But I finally peeled you away and now I am here all alone,

I thought you had broke me, but I am as solid as stone.

And now I am trying to smile, to laugh, and to pray

I try to be kind to myself in every possible way.

I even bought flowers for myself today.