I've found that time can heal almost anything.

Disclaimer: this is a note to self (this post came about as a result of the recent events in my life and the friends who are going through a difficult time)

Remember all the pain that you’ve been through before. Remember all the lessons you’ve learnt, remember the mistakes you’ve made, remember the things you’ve taken for granted.

Those are the things that make you the way you are today, and you're no longer the same person as when you were still naive at fifteen.

You're stronger, you've learnt to be more accepting of come what may, and you now know the importance of appreciating the things that you do have instead of the things you've allowed to slip through your fingers.

There was a time when all you wanted was to be wanted, and you might have gone out of your way for some people who you realised weren't around to stay for the long run. Maybe you built some of your dreams of the future with them too. But remember, these people who left, they have the right to make their own choices too, even if it doesn't involve you.

But what about those who chose to stay? Think about those who choose to put you in their hearts even at the times when you're not really worth loving.

It's easy to hate on the people who take your kindness for weakness, but don't. You have a lot more love to give to the ones who really deserve it. And when you do come across toxic people, cut them off from your life if you have to, because the ones who really love you will never make your life difficult without reason.

There will be a time when you'll feel like you're drowning, and you're going to think that maybe you won't survive the storm. But in time, you're going to realise that you have bigger dreams, and for the scars that don't go, they are proof that you did indeed pull through, like that scabbed knee you got as a child when you first learnt how to cycle.

You're not always going to believe in yourself, but you just have to damn well make it seem like you do. Like a misshapen slab of iron, you’ve come out of the fire, shining and razor sharp. So don't give your ghosts the power to put out that spark that you're reigniting, because darling, you’re still growing and you’ll always be capable of so much more.