“

CANCER: Don’t push good people away, just because you have been hurt in the past. Don’t assume everyone who enters your world is going to bring as much harm to you as the last people who have left. Don’t let your history turn you into a cynic. Don’t let your heart turn to ice. 

“

Stop putting yourself in situations where you’re the one who cares more, the one who does more, the one who hurts more.

“

See I’m convinced the antibody is a perfect concoction of one-part distance and two-parts deflection. I’m well practiced in the art of hiding behind humor as if making you laugh could possibly mask the insecurity. I want you to know that my defense mechanisms are less about letting your best parts in and more about keeping my worst parts out.

“

I want you to know how stubborn I am. I don’t always follow the rules because I make them. Most often than not, I will contradict you.

“

I don’t shave my legs above the knee between November and March (October through April if we move above the Mason-Dixon). I apologize for this in advance; I know it’s not an ideal situation for you. I’m secretly hoping that you are one of those guys who grows his beard out in the winter.