POLLYOLIVE

Call your mother. Tell her you love her. Remember you’re the only person who knows what her heart sounds like from the inside.

One day, he’s going to know. He’ll know your birthday, your middle name, where you were born, your star sign, and your parents names. He’ll know how old you were when you learnt to ride a bike, how your grandparents passed away, how many pets you had, and how much you hated going to school. He’ll know your eye colour, your scars, your freckles, your laugh lines and your birth marks. He’ll know your favourite book, movie, candy, food, pair of shoes, colour, and song. He’s going to know why you’re awake at 5am most nights, where you were when you realised you’d lost a good friend, why you picked up the razor and how you managed to put it down before things went too far. He’s going to know your phobias, your dreams, your fears, your wishes, and your worries. He’s going to know about your first heartbreak, your dream wedding, and your problems with your parents. He’ll know your strengths, weaknesses, laziness, energy, and your mixed emotions. He’s going to know about your love for mayonnaise, your dream of being famous when you were five, your need to quote any film you know all the way through, and your fear of growing older. He’ll know your bad habits, your mannerisms, your stroppy pout, your facial expressions, and your laugh like it’s his favourite song. The way you chew, drink, walk, sleep, fidget and kiss. He’s going to know that you’ve already picked out wedding flowers, baby names, tiles for the bathroom, bridesmaid dresses, and the colour of your bedroom walls. He’s going to know, get annoyed at and then accept that you leave clothes everywhere, take twenty minutes to order a Starbucks, have to organise your DVD’s alphabetically, and check your horoscope… just incase. He’ll know your McDonald’s order, how many sugars to put in your tea, how many scoops of ice cream you want, and that you need your sandwiches cut into triangles. He’s going to know how you feel without you telling him, that you need a wee from a look on your face, and that you’re crying without shedding tears. He’s going to know all of it. Everything. You, from top to bottom and inside out. From learning, from sharing, from listening, from watching. He’s going to know every single thing there is to know, and you know what else? He is still going to love you.

10 BETTER BODY AFFIRMATIONS FOR YOUNG WOMEN 1. Your body is in flux for the rest of your life. Think of your body as fluid instead of static — it’s always going to change. So get comfortable with those changes. 2. No one will love you or not love you because of your body. You are lovable because you’re you, not because your body looks a certain way. 3. The most intensely personal relationship you’ll ever have is with your body. It’s a lifelong relationship that’s well worth investing in and nurturing the same way you would with loved ones. 4. You don’t owe your body to anyone. Not sexually, not aesthetically. Your body is yours. Period. 5. What someone else says about your body says more about them than it does about you. Look past the actual snark to the person who’s saying it, because it’s only a reflection of what they think of themselves. That’s when you’ll see how little power their words have. 6. Your body is not a reflection of your character. It’s a physical home for the complex and wondrous and unique being that is you. 7. Take up as much space as you want. You don’t have to be small, or quiet, or docile, regardless of your physical size. 8. Everything you need to accept your body is already inside you. There’s no book, or diet, or workout routine or external affirmation that you need to feel good about your body right now. 9. Your body is a priority. It’s always trying to tell you things. Taking the time to listen to is of the utmost importance. 10. Wear whatever you want. Your body shape does not dictate your personal style, and fashion rules that say otherwise are wrong. Dress yourself in a way that makes you feel happy and confident and beautiful, because guess what? You are.

Te libero de mí, de mis males, de mi malgenio, de los domingos por la tarde en donde nunca puedo más, del odio a mis cumpleaños, de no saber cómo hacer para regalarte algo que no pierdas. Te libero de mi desengaño, de tu karma, de mis novedades, de la contradicción que represento. Te libero de mis llamadas que te saben a autocompasión, de mis enredos, de mi cabello suelto, largo, sin peinar. Te libero de mi consciencia, del desconcierto a fin de mes, de la caída, de la llegada, de mi huida inevitable. Te dejo libre para que me dejes, para que me veas de lejos y me quieras, menos…

No te quiero mía, ni me quiero tuyo, nos quiero nuestros. No te necesito, ni quiero que me necesites, pero hagámonos falta.

Why, then did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.

I am thankful for the difficult people in my life. They have shown me exactly who I don’t want to be.