Rayna

1. Always smile at strangers. 2. Drink water. It is good for your skin and it helps you feel better. 3. Eat fruit. 4. Eat vegetables, too. 5. Indulge a little. The cookie won’t kill you, I promise. 6. Write in a journal. Be honest with yourself. 7. Keep a calendar, and mark it off each day. You’ll feel accomplished, even when nothing is happening. 8. Do yoga. Focus on your body. 9. Mediate. Be aware of your mind. 10. You are important and loved. If you do not feel supported, find a place where you will. 11. Love yourself. If not entirely, piece by piece. Learn to accept yourself. 12. Pick up a hobby. You can fall in love with something new at any given moment. 13. Pet dogs. Pet cats, too. Animals are great. 14. Accept the compliment. It is genuine. 15. Go on walks. 16. You are allowed to feel. Sad, happy, numb. Be aware of your mental state. 17. Talk to them. 18. Send that message. If you don’t  say it, they won’t know. 19. Never apologize for being who you are. 20. Do not compromise your happiness. If they can’t accept you, they don’t love you. Leave and move on. 21. Take that mental health day. Everything else can wait. 22. Be kind, always. Do not judge. 23. Embrace honesty. It can hurt, but it can help. Always practice truth. 24. Communicate. 25. Sadness is okay. Take the time you need to take. 26. Delete their messages. You need to heal. 27. Relationships end. It is okay. 28. It wasn't your fault. 29. Smell flowers! They are beautiful. 30. You are beautiful. Tell yourself each day, even if you don’t believe the words. Soon enough, you will realize they are true.

You cannot know strength unless you were once vulnerable. You cannot know strength unless you were once broken. One needs to exist to make the other true. I know my strength because of surviving what I’ve been through.

The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it…