emotional homelessness. i wasn't always emotionally strong, i've spent years emotionally homeless. i've been present in many rooms that never shared my emotional frequency, so, of course, i've hardened myself to be accepted. of course i let others dim a light i didn't know existed. i let others decide what i was going to feel, i wanted them to see me. to love me. but the people i let close to my heart often made it feel like my softness was some kind of curse, a liability, a weakness. i often found myself needing to earn my space in these environments that only make me feel like a guest. i learned to compromise; how to be small, how to be useful because i never felt a sense of safety. i kept my bags packed emotionally and i spent most of my time trying to survive. i was mistaking people for shelters, instead of building a sanctuary of my own. no one ever taught me how to build a home within. no one taught me it was okay to soften. how to not dim myself to be accepted. until i realized, healing emotional homelessness wasn't about finding the right room, or the right person. it was about building a home i can reside in, a soul i can arrive in, and a heart i can love hard with; without shame, without guilt, without shrinking to be chosen, and without abandoning myself to be loved. now, i give myself everything i was searching for. i no longer seek shelter, i become it. finally, a soft place to land.