Be brave enough to be alone.
By alone, I mean only depending on yourself for your happiness and your comfort. I mean dreaming of a future where your goals rely on you, and only you, to achieve them.
By alone, I mean strolling down a beach with the sand between your feet and hugging yourself as the wind brushes your bare arms. I mean taking yourself on a date to your favourite café with a book, a coffee, and yourself for company and watching the sun rise and fall back down again, feeling nothing but comfort in that moment.
By alone, I mean listening to your own thoughts, being your best friend, and cherishing the solitude that you find yourself in. I mean being okay with not having a partner and still feeling loved. I mean being comfortable in the presence of those that do. I mean being happy when those you grew up with fold themselves in the arms of relationships, jobs, children, and new countries while you are still on a journey to find whom you truly are.
Be brave enough to love yourself.
By love, I mean wrapping strength around your wrists as you bunch your hands into tight fists for anyone who dares to treat you badly and letting your heart rest inside your chest rather than carrying it on your sleeve for people who will never see it for what it is worth.
I mean loving yourself enough to walk away, enough to say when you have endured too much, enough to smile at your reflection in the mirror when life feels grim, enough to put yourself first and not let anyone take you for granted.
By love, I mean hugging yourself when you feel empty, pouring all the tenderness that you give to others inside yourself, where it belongs. I mean giving and giving to your heart until you fill your empty bucket with enough love to last you a lifetime. I mean cherishing your soul, comforting yourself, and never letting yourself go astray again.
Be brave enough to be there for yourself.
By being there, I mean holding your own hand when things get too much and wiping your tears when you are settled in a tight corner of your room with no one but a human-sized shadow resting beside you.
I mean giving yourself the compulsory pep talks, having the heart-to-hearts, listening to your worries and concerns and holding your falling pieces together as closely as you can, because if you don’t then you will fall apart and there will be no one other than you to save you.
Be brave enough to say no.
By this, I mean say no when it causes you pain, say no when you do not want to give away parts of yourself anymore, say no when you do not want to be pushed around or forced to do things that do not fulfil you.
Say no when your heart rattles against your ribs because it has been drained of all the love and affection that it could give. Say no when deep down you know that they do not deserve the goodness that rests inside your chest, when you know that you must save yourself for those who will cherish you, for those who will accept wholeheartedly all that you have to give.
Be brave enough to become the right person for yourself.
Because if you are brave enough to do what is right for your heart, then I promise you, you will never feel lonely when you are alone. 
