Hey you! Look at you! You’re standing there and breathing and doing life even though it hurts today. I bet you never thought you would be here. I’m sure a year ago you never guessed you would have made it this far. Taking one more step seemed like such an impossible task.

But here you are. You walked through hell and back and man did you look good doing it. I know it’s been hard. You don’t trust anymore, you don’t want to believe there is beauty in life and when things get good, you wonder how long it will last. I get it. I’ve been there. But now we are here, now we are moving forward. It’s a new day.

If there is one thing I’ve learned about hard times, it’s that they can steal your joy. They can take every bit of ambition and hope and just squeeze you until you are a dried up cynical grape, until you are a gosh darn raisin. Don’t let life make you a raisin.

So how do you keep from becoming the one food left at the bottom of the trail mix bag? You have to do your homework. This is not homework like in 11th grade when you pretended to read that book about that a-hole whale Moby Dick, but then you actually looked up the spark notes. No, you really need to do this work.

Recent studies have shown that going through traumatic events create in us a desire to make some big changes as we move forward. They found that people who went through hard things had less regrets at the end of their lives because they decided to live life to the fullest. You’ve seen the dark side of this world, but the good news is you get to see the light as well.

I am by no means an expert, just a girl made up mostly of smeared mascara, some broken dreams and an intense desire to make today better than the one before. But I’ve lived some life and learned that it’s the small things that heal your soul.

Believe in miracles. Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.” You my friend are a walking miracle. Look at all the things that tried to take you out, and yet here you stand.

Learn to trust again. You are not an island, let someone in. Yes there is risk but you need people around you that love you and want good things for you. I know it will be hard and yes they might disappoint you but I promise you, finding a friend is always worth the work.

Try something new. Take a dance class, go to a new restaurant, climb a mountain. The past is the past and you are not that same girl. Surprise yourself and others by stepping out of what you know and into a new adventure.

Listen to someone's story. Sometimes it feels like all the memories, feelings and heartache of your own journey will just eat you alive. Take time to get out of your head by allowing someone else to be heard. Maybe it’s not time to tell your story, but listening to someone else’s can change your entire perspective.

And finally, do one last thing. Think back, way back to when you were a little kid. Picture your purest memory. Think about a moment in time when you were smiling and laughing, a time when everything was right with the world before stress and anxiety, worry and defeat. Got it? Okay now look at that girl, really look at her.

That girl is still there. She is buried deep inside you wanting you to laugh and smile and dance again. You see that girl? Well what are you waiting for? Go get her.