Trail of Broken Wings

by Sejal Badani

That I am the master of my destiny and everyone is a pawn in my game—not the other way around.

Each image serves as a reminder that a light shines through so many people, and yet, no matter how far I run, I cannot seem to escape my shadow.

never depend on another person for your happiness. If someone had the authority to give, then he or she had the authority to take away.

you cannot keep someone who has already left you behind. No matter what I needed or wanted, Sonya put herself first; I was last.

When an adult has been abused as a child, he or she lives life always expecting the other shoe to drop. That is because it always did. There was never a good day that did not end badly. Sadness always followed happiness, and fear always preempted confidence.

we don’t choose our families, or our childhood, but we choose our future.

children all over the world had the same thing in common—they wanted to spend their lives laughing.

When you give a piece of yourself to someone, count on them to hold it safe, you become vulnerable. You depend on them, but they may not be the person you expected, the one you were sure could carry you. Then the disappointment becomes a burden to bear. It is better to keep yourself at a distance, never getting too close.

Everyone must reach a point in their life when they stop running. When it is easier to stand still than to keep being chased, even if the person chasing you is only in your head.

Energy doesn’t stand still; it moves, shifts with time. I think maybe we are meant to do the same, to see the world not as we fear it is but as we hope for it to be—kinder, gentler, each lesson not meant to destroy but to enable. To learn that we are not stagnant, but rather move with those around us, each one of us melting into the other, becoming one though our bodies separate us. Our hurts and our joys are meant to be shared, the burden easier when another holds your hand.

home is not a place or a lifestyle, but the state of your heart and all the people who take their place in it.