Dare to Dream

At the end of the day, I just want to be proud of the person I have become. I want to be proud of the way I loved, I want to be proud of the way I placed my heart into the hands of others. I want to be proud of the way I chose vulnerability, of the way I chose tenderness. How I never stopped choosing it no matter what my soul experienced at the hands of being the kind of human being who loved deeply in this world.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I fought for others; of the way I dedicated myself to making them feel seen and understood. I want to be proud of the way I showed up. Of the way I tried my best to speak beauty into the parts of them that no one else clapped for. I want to be proud of the way I did not let fear convince me to keep myself hidden from others. I will be proud of the way I cared.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I fought to be here. I want to be proud of the way I taught myself a version of strength that was different from the one the world had so hard tried to instill within me. I want to be proud of the way I reframed bravery, of how I made it into something soft.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I worked through my dark. I want to be proud of the way I sat down with what was heavy and unresolved within me. I want to be proud of the way I healed even when it hurt. I want to be proud of the way I tucked hope into myself for safekeeping. I want to be proud of the way I believed that there was more to experience at the hands of life. That the beauty I was yet to feel existed in this world. I want to be proud of the way I survived.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I showed up. Or the way I existed in this world. Of the way I dedicated myself to living the kind of life that was full, that allowed for happiness, and sadness and growth to flow through me like rain.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I fell in love with my life, of the way I fell in love with a version of happiness that I created from the deepest part of my soul. I want to be proud of the fact that I never took a back seat to my pain. That I never let my past convince me that I did not deserve the potential the future was holding for me.

At the end of the day, I want to be proud of the way I moved in the direction of life. Of the direction of living. In the direction of experience. In the direction of love. I want to be proud of the way I risked my soul. I want to be proud of the way I honored it. I want to have the courage to begin breaking patterns in my life that no longer serve me. I want to give myself permission to pause and reflect today. To remember that taking care of myself does not mean “me first,” it means “me too.”

Because, at the end of the day, I want to leave this world with a heart that is worn-out and tender all over. A heart that aches from loving and feeling, and caring in the best way possible. I want to leave this world knowing that I poured love into everything I did. That I crashed my soul into every single day. That I tried for something while I was here. At the end of the day, I just want to be proud of the person I have become. I just want to be proud of the way I connected.