Day 24.
Here’s what’s been on my mind lately and what has been helping me. For some reason I’ve been thinking a lot about myself as a kid—exuberant, imaginative, believing I could do or be anything I wanted. And I’ve been looking at a photo of myself around age 7 that captures that spirit. I’ve been thinking about what I would say to that girl, as an adult, if I knew she was struggling.

And I would tell her that she’s the same kid, with the same spark, and she deserves all the best that the world has to offer, and deserves so much more than a drink or whatever escape she’s thinking of. I would tell her to hang in there, that everyone was pulling for her, and that she is a force of nature who was going to come out on the other side of this and be better than ever.

I’m going to give her the future she deserves.

Reflection on post in August 2024.

I still look back at the photo of myself at that age when I find that I start to spiral into self-doubt or overly critical self-talk. I think about how upset I would be if I heard someone talking to that little girl that way. I would never speak to her that way. I would speak to her with kindness and compassion, offer her words of encouragement and tell her I know that she did the best she could. And then I try to speak to myself the same way. I still want to give that girl the future she deserves.