I thought my mind and body weren’t good enough. I felt forgotten and ignored and just wanted a boy to love me. I started kissing any boy just to feel wanted, even just a few minutes. That is, until I found self-acceptance, which led to hope and joy.
Read MoreOur female friendships are the cornerstones of our lives. We need our girlfriends to love us when we can’t love ourselves, to prop us up when we can’t stand completely on our own, to cheer us on, and to support us in the way only a good friend can. But our garden of friends requires careful tending.
Read MoreNever be afraid to Begin Again. Sometimes we have to start from where we are not from where we want to be. When we are afraid someone else won’t come along, we are willing to accept any behavior from the person we are with. Never be afraid of standards! Remember, the past doesn’t define you. You define you. Restart your story. Begin again.
Read MoreIt seems dramatic, but I miss my best friend more than I ever have before. In college, I’m constantly experiencing new things and situations. Sometimes with these new situations come a sense of worry and apprehensiveness. College is a journey that is constantly changing, and all I want at times are things that I know are concrete — like my best friend.
Read MoreI realized that giggle I heard while walking down the aisle sounded so familiar because it reminded me of your laugh at that age. It was the giggle I have heard from you your whole life as you grew into the remarkable young woman you are today. But I also recalled your challenges and conviction.
Read MoreYou will have many friendships in your life and you will love your friends in different ways at different times. A great and enduring friendship is an endless gift and a joyful responsibility. There is risk in sharing our deepest selves; it calls for us to be vulnerable, honest, and real. But true friendships do not survive without these qualities.
Read MoreThe key to maintaining any friendship is to always be open to reconnecting and to not feel any resentment or guilt about the amount of time that has passed since your last catch-up. Don’t beat yourself up about it and don’t hold it against the other person. You will have some friends that you text with every day and others where you don’t talk often, but when you do, you pick up right where you left off. When you do tap back into a friendship that has a bit distant, let yourself fall back into old stories and jokes.
Read MoreI was still heartbroken and I desperately wanted someone to want me. To need me. To love me. But I needed to love myself before I let any guy love me. I’ve learned that no matter how hard I try to convince myself that I love something or someone, reality will always win out.
Read MoreIf you are in an abusive relationship, there is always a way to get out and be safe. You do not deserve the physical or emotional pain. Know that you are an incredible, vibrant woman with strength, dignity, and power.
Read More
