Pillow Thoughts

by Courtney Peppernell

It’s exhausting to be locked in your head with all these thoughts that tie you down. Just for one moment, try with all your might to let go of all the things that stop you from being you.

Of all the tragedies on this earth, there is none more tragic than a person who cannot see their worth.

The tragedy of what could have been is nearly as crippling as what once was but can never be again.

No matter how many times you are told to “breathe,” it feels as though the air has all but thinned, and despite every logical reason to remain calm, you feel like a ship without its sails in the middle of a raging storm.

May your weapon be kindness Your shield compassion May the flowers grow again To sprout love from all this sadness

But what is involved in a happily ever after? There are too many versions, not for you to choose but to create.

Your feelings are valid and real. Do not let anybody denounce them just because they do not feel the same way.

I do not see weakness in placing your heart on your sleeve; I see bravery in a world that can be cruel. I see something raw and beautiful in being as honest as you can be.

You just have to surround yourself with people who have the same heart as you.

But life is not about half doing. You cannot half love, or half accept, or half live. It’s about giving everything you have. When you are old and worn, do you really want to look back and say you g...

You can make all the effort in the world and yet someone will still tell you it’s not good enough. But this isn’t about them; it’s about y...

It’s okay to close some doors; hell, it’s even ok...

Let’s be frank—there are times it feels the whole world is falling apart. You cannot compare your pain to others’ so why respond with “Someone else has it worse?” Pain is immeasurable when it’s felt becaus...

Sometimes it’s not even about calculations or careful thinking. Sometimes it’s just about having a little faith that there are still people in t...

But you cannot grow if you ...

Time has no ...

Time doesn’t mean a thing.

Be gentle with yourself, forgive yourself, even on your darkest day.

Change is not going to sit you down and ask if you are ready. Change is not going to knock on your door and hand you notice. Change is not going to hug you in the middle of the night and tell you it can wait. Change does not wait. Change doesn’t care if you aren’t ready. It will happen anyway. Change is not always the friend you may want, but it will always know when you need it. It’s like Batman, basically.

You are a battlefield. Never will there be a greater war than the one you hold with yourself.

I feel as though I am always writing my first draft. As though my life is a series of edits that I never have time to complete.

But I am so deeply lost in my own soul, how can I expect anyone else to understand me?

Stop acting like you aren’t enough. You’re strong and beautiful

You are not nothing, and you can achieve anything, and you are believed in.

You are someone worth having around

Why do people tell others what they deserve but never themselves? Stop acting like you aren’t enough, because you are.

There are always too many words to describe the way you are feeling. So why, then, when it comes time to say these words, do we lose them?

If you are in love and withering, then this is not love, because when in love, a rose should bloom.

Some things will never be fair for everyone. This is the saddest realization that the universe can teach. So if they are fai...

When you have been someone your whole life and suddenly you realize a part of you exists that you never realized before, it’s perhaps the hardest thing to walk away from the you that you have always known. To walk into the open arms of this new, redef...

Then I am reminded that life will continue on, regardless of whether I choose to board the tr...

They always say that transitions happen w...

But maybe it’s really in the smaller moments, like when you look at yourself in the mirror and realize how far you’ve com...

a bed is much more than a pla...

So when you invite someone to lie with you, you are inviting them to your safe place. Choose wisely.

Dear Life, you are exhausting at times. You throw more tantrums than I have ever known possible. You slow down, you speed up, you take time and give time. Sometimes there is sunshine and other times there are storms. So I try to break it up a little, take risks, love a lot, and find comfort in trying new things. But you are never the same, Life, always changing, always keeping me guessing. So I will live you, Life, to my absolute potential.

They don’t teach you that some people will turn on you even after you have loved them with ...

They don’t teach you that some days you might not believe the sun will rise, but it w...

You are not alone. Just be kind. Teach yourself.

We are all born with softness, and it’s important to grow into it. Do not let the world turn your heart cold.

It’s so hard to know what to say To someone wh...

That’s the thing about people who are soft. Everyone else thinks they can walk all over them as though they won’t notice. But we do; we notice everything.

We are built on a foundation Of what love is supposed to be

Sometimes I am a rainstorm Sometimes I am a drought There is no in between

I’m begging you to care

Because if I have to keep on hiding Then life becomes unfair

We get older and suddenly what we cannot have becomes just what is. Less becomes plenty and time is a fragment ...

You will always be a lot of things. Not everyone is going to like you or understand you. And in the times it feels like you are on trial, Try to treat others with good intentions, Even the ones...

You push people Away Because it’s easier Simpler

By existing you are planting softness in soil that has turned hard. There is no need to surrender your existence. You are doing just fine by even existing at all.