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When I react in ways I have in the past, it can be easy for me to think that I haven’t changed, I haven’t grown. But that’s not true. I have learned, I have grown, I have become a better version of myself and will continue to.

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It’s hard to bring up your baggage when you enter a new relationship because you’re never sure when the right moment is to have the conversation.

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What’s holding you back more than anything is the self-belief that these things are true.

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Everyone has baggage. Everyone has bad habits. But not everyone talks about how grueling it is to heal yourself from them.

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My unsolicited advice: treat every man according to his own individual merit. Reward behavior you enjoy, admonish behavior you don’t like. Leave the past where it is.

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I can be fun and happy, and I deserve to be with this person as much as they deserve to be with me.

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I wouldn’t have such a warped sense of self. I wouldn’t have such a dark sense of humor. I wouldn’t have so many nasty things to say about myself.

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I’m trying to love him like a confident woman who knows her worth.

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I don’t want someone whose baggage goes with mine. I just want someone who can identify and carry their own.

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Yes, you have baggage. Yes, you are screwed up. But everyone is.