It takes courage to stand your ground when everything seems to be falling apart. It takes willpower to not give in or give up. Many a battles have I fought in my lifetime. The biggest of them all has been me against myself. Me against my limiting beliefs, me against what I thought was possible… me against movement. I was held captive by my mind, it spoke for me… chose for me. I followed along blindly, never speaking, never expressing my true emotions. I walked the same paths I had walked time and time again, saw the same faces. They all seemed to be on the treadmill just like me… zombies wandering aimlessly, sniffing out the air.

Then one day something clicked, I saw myself from the outside in. I started paying attention, I started to listen. That small but distinctive voice called to me. Who are you, where are you from, where are you going, what do you want? I was no longer in a daze, I knew what I was doing, the consequences of my choices, my decisions, my actions. Then battle began, there was fire from all sides, the pain ricocheted through my body. I staggered, I stumbled. Some days I felt like surrendering, some days I just wanted for it to be all over and done. I was no match for this battle. I stood my place there on the front line…my body weak, my limbs sore. My tears washed and soothed the wounds on my skin. The pain began to subside, the wounds began to heal. I pulled together what was left of myself…battered and scarred but still whole.

On the horizon I saw clear skies, the smoke had died down. All around me were familiar faces, battered, wounded, and scarred. People like me that have fought their battles, people like me who have survived. People like me that have decided to finally LIVE.