a gentle reminder before the year ends Take a moment to acknowledge everything you've endured to become who you are today. The triumphs the world clapped for, and the silent battles no one ever noticed. The nights you cried yourself to sleep and the mornings you questioned the point of it all. The way you kept showing up while carrying grief in your chest, and the way you survived every moment that almost made you give up. Take a moment to remember the doors that closed so loudly you were sure you'd never breathe right again, and how you now stand triumphant on the other side of them all. Alive, and so much stronger. You are not here by accident; you are here because every version of you refused to take ambiguity for an answer. Because every version of you chose courage. Because every version of you kept going. You are every scar, every lesson, every setback, and every breakthrough, held together in one body. Take a moment to finally see the obvious: that storm you were fighting so hard against isn't here anymore — you are. You won. Just like you always do. Because your battle was never against the storm, it was against the version of you who believed you couldn't survive it.