She has begun to take more lively pictures of herself again. They aren’t exactly, nor completely lively pictures of herself, but they will simply have to do for now. The girl she once was is no longer the girl I had come to know before he came along. She has changed. I want to say she has changed for the better, but I am conflicted. She has come to terms with the fact that he is a disease; she is beginning to fall in love with the concept of herself, living happily in her own skin. The photo I have just snapped of her reflects that, with a simple twist of elegance and chicness of course. Something she has neglected to do for some time since he has consumed her. Her eyes have found their twinkle. He cheeks have found their fullness and color. And to have actually done something with her appearance for the first time since she has left him to her past. Her rebirth from a girl to a woman who has begun to except herself, who she wants to be in life has touched me so deeply. It has been so long since she has allowed herself to be truly seen by the world and she has learned to let nothing or no one define her any longer. I see myself feeling confident, pleased and proud of the woman who now stares back at me with tear streaked eyes. She has gone through a lot, but her smirk reveals that she will not allow her past to direct her future. She has completely redefined herself and that’s all she (we) could have asked for…