Dear Haters, Thank You

@kawamura
@kawamura

Dear Haters:

Without your constant negativity, second guessing, and criticism, I don’t know if I would be where I am today. You, I assume, always thought you were tearing me down, when in reality, I was taking all of that cold heartedness and turning it into gold.
I was using your filthy words to drive myself forward.
I was taking every piece of dirt you flung my way and planting gardens.

So I needed to tell you this. To make sure you understood. To make sure we were on the same page moving forward.

I am well aware that there will be those who do not agree with me. There will even be those who believe the way I live my life is strange or wrong

There will be those who feed their insecurity by picking apart others. Who throw that onto me and my accomplishments.
And still, there will be more who are cruel solely for the sake of it.

To all of them, to all of you, I say, reevaluate what is going on in your life.
Because I promise if you start to seek out love instead of hatred your entire world will change.

But, by chance, if you still feel the need to ambush me with your words, your cold stares, your whispers and rumors, bring it on.

You cannot throw more at me than I can handle. Because through grace, strength, wisdom, and phenomenal courage, I have learned to handle it all.

I have learned, in part due to the sheer number of people who have doubted me, that if I set my mind to something, I can and will achieve it.

If I make a decision and that is the best decision for my life, I will follow through with it. Nothing you say or do can stop my progress. I promise you.

That being said:

Dear Haters,

Thank you for teaching me that the only opinion that matters when it comes to my life is my own. Thank you for teaching me that in the end, hatred will get you absolutely nowhere. Thank you for always motivating me to work harder than the day before.

I hope someday you feel so loved that there is no room in your life for this kind of hurtful energy.

But this is all the space I will allow you to take up in mine. I have much more important things to do. I am living my life fully, and that means I do not have any spare time to waste.

I wish you all the best.
Sincerely. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Alison Malee is a poet and the author of the book Shifting Bone.


Shifting Bone is available as a physical and electronic book. You can buy it here

About the author

Alison Malee

Alison Malee is an accomplished poet, author, and actress. Read her book Shifting Bone here.

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