I am not weak.

{I won’t deny my flaws and insecurities.

I’ve been bruised and broken in places,

used and abused and pushed aside and wasted,

disregarded and shamed,

manipulated and blamed,

starved and shut out and surrounded by hatred.

but None of that defines me –

my scars are a part of me;

not All of me

I am not the battles;

I am the Victories;

I am the Act of Overcoming}

so, if you’re searching for a soul to save,

a damsel in distress,

look somewhere else.

I’ll be my own Hero.

 

but I wasn’t always so strong.

my first love was the Ocean,

as powerful and untamed as my wild heart.

my second love was a boy

who showed me the beauty

of the world around me

and the hidden Beauty

Inside me.

that Fire in my soul –

the Hunger for knowledge and exploration,

the Curiosity and the Wanderlust,

the Rock-Hard Resolve,

the white-hot, unabashed Passion,

the inexorable Determination –

that is what he fell in love with.

Not my brokenness.

Not my fragility.

 

There is nothing in this world that I detest more

than our sickened society’s revolting

Glorification

of a damaged heart.

 

Stop it.

Just stop.

Stop acting broken,

being broken,

because you think it makes you beautiful,

or interesting,

or complicated.

It doesn’t

It just makes you…Broken.

Trust me. I’ve been there.

Be strong.

Be brave.

Be wild, and free, and afraid, but willing.

Ask questions.

Make mistakes.

Journey.

Discover.

Fall in love, and love so hard

it damn near breaks your heart.

Laugh wholeheartedly.

Dance yourself breathless.

Howl at the moon.

Sing to the stars.

Smile wide. Smile often.

Don’t let anyone stand in your way.

I’ve done it.

I’ll continue doing it –

living in freedom and fighting for happiness –

until it kills me

and it will be the sweetest death

because I lived –

really Lived –

and I was my own Hero.

 

who am I?

I am a dreamer

I’m a traveler and a scholar

                a seeker of truth

I’m gentle

I’m kind

I’m a lover, not a fighter

but I’ll fight to the death

for those that I love

I’m fierce

I’m passionate

I’m opinionated as hell

and unapologetic

I’m speaking my mind

in a room full of conformists

not caring what they think

I’m singing quietly to myself

                secretly hoping you’ll overhear –

                hoping you’ll like my song

I’m incapable of standing still

                especially when the radio’s on

I’m sneaking out at midnight

                not for the moonshine

                but for the moonlight

I’m in love with the world

                in love with living

                in love with love

I’m a ferocious lion with a delicate heart

a firefly in a sea of stars

the capricious blaze of a wild fire

                the caress of a sunrise

I’m that girl they name hurricanes after

I am mine before I’ll ever be yours

I am my own hero, and

I am not weak.