You owe it to yourself.
You owe it to yourself to show up. To make your bed every day. To move your body more. To eat healthier (even if it's still a struggle).
You owe it to yourself to change. To leave environments that are harming you. To rest and recalibrate. To find people that can support you, encourage you, empower you.
You owe it to yourself to try. Even if you're scared. Even if you fail (and you will). Even if people might laugh or find you cringe.
After all that you've been through and overcome, what makes you think that you shouldn't continue striving for a better life?
I don't know what shitty, unfair, or even traumatizing things happened in your childhood…or what harsh truths you were forced to learn about the real world. But when you reach adulthood, there's gonna come a point where you need to make a crucial decision: that your life is YOUR responsibility.
And I'm not saying that you should just forget it all or pretend none of it affected you. Your past has shaped you. That’s a fact. Those experiences – the good, the bad, the ones that left scars – they're part of your story…
But they don't get to write the rest of your chapters.
You owe it to yourself to not let the rest of your life be dictated by what happened to you.
You owe it to yourself to heal.
You owe it to yourself to move forward.
You owe it to yourself to imagine a better life…and then actually take steps to realizing it.
You're not betraying your younger self by healing. You're not dismissing your struggles by choosing to grow beyond them. You're not pretending the hard stuff didn't happen by deciding it won't define your future.
Instead, you're doing something brave: you're choosing yourself.
You're saying, "What happened to me matters, but what happens next - what I choose to do next - matters even more." You're acknowledging that while life might not have been fair (spoiler: it rarely is), you deserve the chance to build something beautiful anyway.
So start small. Start imperfectly. Start anyway. Make that bed. Take that walk. Send that application. Have that conversation. Leave that situation. Choose that healing.
After all, you've already survived 100% of your worst days. That's not just resilience – that's evidence that you're stronger than you think. And that strength? It deserves to be used for building something beautiful, something that makes your future self proud.
You owe it to yourself to find out just how far that strength can take you.
