Holly Riordan

Don’t play with her emotions. Don’t sneak behind her back. Don’t make her wonder what she did wrong, why she wasn’t enough for you. Don’t leave her with self-esteem issues, abandonment issues, and trust issues.

You have to make the conscious decision to change, to better yourself, to put your past in the past.

I’m supposed to love myself. I’m not supposed to delete selfies. I’m not supposed to criticize myself every time I walk passed a mirror. I’m not supposed to struggle with my self-worth.

Don’t settle for someone you have to put on an act around. Don’t settle for someone who makes you feel like you have to hold back your weirdness in order to be accepted. Don’t settle for someone who wants a cardboard version of you instead of the real deal. 

My pessimism hasn’t helped me in the long run. It has only made me grouchier, more paranoid, less approachable. I keep my expectations low in order to protect my heart, but it isn’t even working.

I can’t figure out why you would stop talking to me out of nowhere.

When you love someone, you make mistakes together. You take steps backward together. You recover together. You fumble through the world together.

Sometimes I let my roots grow long. Sometimes I let my nails get chipped. Sometimes I run on coffee instead of sleep. Sometimes I forget to put effort into myself because I am busy worrying about everyone else.