Dear Valuable Girl

Must remember...must remember...must remember...  Thank you for reading my mind, Brave Girls Club.

Dear Valuable Girl,

You don't always have to be so tough, you know. There are people all around who want to help and would jump at the chance if they knew how to help and what you really need and want. There are so many people who love you. You don't have to carry this alone.

Somehow it happens that we isolate ourselves over time, stuck in a mode of survival, and forgetting that there's anything else to think about beyond how to get through the next day, or even the next few minutes. Life is not meant for that kind of living, even though there are stages of life that can stretch for a long time living this way.

Try to reach out today. Call a friend and be really honest about where you are. Try something new -- a new skill, a new recipe, a new route to the same old places. This will help you get unstuck and begin to build a life that is about THRIVING and ENJOYING rather than surviving and enduring. You are SO STRONG and you are so great at surviving and enduring, friend. But everyone who loves you want more for you than that. YOUR SOUL wants more than that, too. You know that, right?

You can do this. There are so many smiles and laughs and new friendships and new adventures ahead for you. Your best years have not even been lived yet. You have so much to look forward to. Decide to LIVE BIG!

xoxo