Three years ago, I was a very confused and scared girl. I didn't know who I was, where I was going, and I especially didn't know how to love myself. The idea of being okay with how I looked and the actions that I made was a foreign idea to me, but looking back on it now makes me thankful that I came so far. I stumbled upon a book of old poems I wrote back when I was really struggling to find myself, and this is one that really stuck out to me.

"Maybe if my words were enough,
You would have stayed.
Would have been enough to end,
All the games you played.
Put my ink to paper,
Write my stand.
Tear stained pride,
Blood on your hands.

Will you look back?

Maybe if my actions could speak,
You would have seen.
Could have shown you my love,
That you were my dream.
Bleed me dry of feeling,
But what's the use?
Cause all my feelings,
They were all for you.

Please look back...

Maybe if you knew my heart,
Like you claimed to.
Knew my fear, my pain,
My unending love for you.
But it's too late now,
For the bleeding's done.
But I hope for your sake,
The learning's just begun.

I looked back..."

Reading this makes me proud of myself for being able to write down my emotions and my feelings, but at the same time, it's a reminder that I'm not that girl anymore. I've grown up, learned, and realized that people and their opinions or ideas of me don't counteract how I feel about myself. I don't need the presence of someone else in my life telling me who I should be or make me feel inferior.
For anyone who can relate to my poem, I'm sorry. However, I hope that my progress will give you hope and the determination to push past whatever obstacles may be in your way.