Last week, my mentor said something that halted me in my steps.

To give you a little context – I’ve been overwhelmed for months.

As someone who finds comfort in planning and being prepared, it felt like I’d been thrown into the lion’s den… without even knowing there was a lion in there.

But over the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt myself landing. Grounded. Safe.

And as silence often does, it made space for reflection.

I saw just how much I’ve done. How tightly I’ve held on. How hard I’ve pushed. How many moments I’ve dragged myself through – sometimes barely breathing, sometimes with a fire in my chest.

I’ve given up. I’ve given in. I’ve stood my ground. I’ve let go. I’ve screamed. I’ve stomped. I’ve torn it all down and built it back up.

And I’ve done most of it on my own – with a few trusted shoulders along the way to lean on.

I realized the anxiety I hated so much didn’t need to be feared – it just needed to be understood.

And I realized that I am capable of far more than I ever gave myself credit for.

Then my mentor said:

“All of this… it just proves one thing. That you love you.”

And that floored me.

Because that – that’s what I never saw in the process. I never understood my will to fight, to hold on.

I never saw that I could possibly love myself, even when I felt like the most unlovable version of me.

For as long as I could remember, I’ve hated who I was. I’ve felt like a burden, incapable, never enough.

But to see with new eyes now… it’s nothing short of amazing.

And I want you to see it too.

That the way you survive –

the way you hold yourself together, or fall apart and still keep going –

it means you love you, too. And there’s no greater love than the one you have for yourself, despite all the odds.

You don’t have to do it perfectly. You just have to show up.

Protect who you are, as you become who you’re meant to be.

Because that love – the one you forgot to see?

It’s been with you all along.

Love Always,