Carved in Scars

by Elle Mitchell

To the ones who really needed a light in a dark place but had to be their own. This is for you.

We all come into the world as blank canvases. And we leave it carved in scars—some we show the world and others that remain invisible unless someone knows exactly where to look—but they make us who we are, whether we want them to or not.

We come into the world as blank canvases—all of us. Innocent, eager for love. Then the world gets ahold of us and leaves us with scars we don’t deserve, that we never asked for. But like I said before, it feels better to let it out, even if it’s only temporary.

They’re the kind of things that haunt you when you’re old, the kind that will keep you up at night, squeezing your heart while you ruminate over all of the ways you could have done things differently and wonder how it could still—after all this time—possibly hurt so much.

To all the outcasts and the black sheep of the family—me too. It wasn’t your fault, and it’s their loss. It’s time to heal. Do it for yourself, and find your people.