don't give up.

i have done things that i would consider selfish.  i have hurt people.  i have hurt myself.  i have scars that i will carry with me for the rest of my life.  an emptiness when i think of certain things i could've done differently, but probably wouldn't have anyway.  do i consider these regrets?  maybe.  or lessons, rather.  some harder than others.

i don't let these things harden me, though.  my dreams are still my dreams.  no matter how much pain haunts us, we shouldn't let it keep us from our happiness.  i'm not afraid to fall in love again, to make myself vulnerable to another person.  i still want a big, airy, sun-filled house on 10+ acres, with a man who loves me and wants to change my last name, and 2 (or 3 or 4) kids.  these things don't define me.  i know we don't always get what we want.  i know this isn't the life that everyone envisions.  but that's the life i want to strive for.

i guess what i'm trying to say is, we're going to make mistakes.  we're human!  we're going to fall for the wrong person, do things we previously believed to be unimaginable, break someone's heart, hurt our family members...these things happen.  but we can't let them deter us from being happy.  we have to take chances, we have to let people in.  we have to learn to depend on others occasionally, and be open to compromise.  we have to be vulnerable sometimes, to get to the good parts of life, whatever they may be for you.  and these things may change over time.  that's ok.  let them.  that's the nature of our universe.  it's constantly changing.  so should we.

don't be afraid, y'all.  just let loose and let live.  :)