Dear lovers, past and present — thank you for teaching me what’s real. — Dear lovers, past and present — You can learn a lesson from pretty much anything. Love, pain, success, failure; you learn who you are when real life happens. Fire burns you, and you learn not to get too close. Someone betrays you, and you learn to be careful where you…

#2 — They know the difference between self-confidence and an overinflated ego. — Confidence is sexy. So is respect — both to others and to yourself. We each have our own hopes and dreams and goals and plans. Each of us wants to feel heard, listened to, valued, and appreciated, and each of us wants to love and be loved, in some capacity. …

Did you notice all the other women agreeing with me? — Dear male commenters — First off, I acknowledge that everyone is different and some things are open to interpretation. But some things really aren’t. And honestly, you don’t always have to weigh in. Your reaction — what you say, and how you say it — well, that says a lot…

Because you don’t have to believe everything you think. — We’ve all probably experienced overwhelm at some point. After all, life is busy and it often feels like there’s so much to do and so little time to do it. In the moment, it’s hard to take a breath and remember that there’s only so much that’s in our control. …

And how to accept that he’s now gone. — How do you pay tribute to someone who you greatly appreciated, admired, disliked, resented, and loved at a distance for most of your life? And how do you describe the feeling of them being gone? Throughout my life, I harbored a lot of resentment towards my grandfather, and became used…

The person you love doesn’t have to complete you. — Your beliefs shape your life, and therefore should be reflected in your relationship as well. If it’s important to you, being with someone else shouldn’t necessarily change it. Most people would probably agree that part of sharing your life with someone is compromise. …

You don’t have to choose one or the other. — Wanting to be independent isn’t the same as wanting to be alone. Because man or woman, we all want to feel loved, appreciated and supported, right? Since I was a young girl, I’ve always wanted to do things my own way. My mom always told me that I marched to…

A poem about striving to see one another as fellow humans. — “When did the world become So black and white?” they ask. Not knowing — That is how it has always been. There has always been division, But only one side has felt the effects, And the other — Doesn’t believe it exists. How do we learn To change our ways? Not…

A poem about the crushing fear of taking the path less traveled by. — “Hold my hand,” I said, And the world in all its greatness, Mistook my plea For an open invitation. “Help me up,” I said, And my path was suddenly there, Laid out coldly At my humble feet. Every stone was in place, No cracks nor curves, The finish line was specific And…