Paying It Forward

Looming in the shadows was a hazy depiction her former self. She grappled with her identity as failed to match the person she once could recognize.

With each step onward, fell decaying petals of the blossomed sunflower. Every limp petal drifting into the frigid air became hardened by failure. Pieces of her dissipated, leaving nothing but a frail stem of a girl with long dark hair and lackluster eyes, aged by disappointment.

Should you look past her lenses, you would encounter an encumbered soul distressed by loss and love.

From your perspective, she lacks courage to stand strong in her truth, abated by her misgivings, yet still willing to help those in need.

If you relate to her struggles, you should guide her down the path to self-appreciation and confidence, for this is what she needs most. Encourage her to believe enduring trauma will not define the person she’s bound to become.

Remind her that challenges transform us. We may even fall long before acquiring the tenacity to stand up. But we have the power to control how those setbacks determine the outcome.

Teach her to embrace the scars she so loathes to acknowledge. Show her the beauty in her wounds; they represent the fortitude to overcome pain.

One day she will wear them proudly for the world to see, truly unafraid to be herself.

For this is what it means to pay it forward.