The Road Between

by Courtney Peppernell

Journeys are not all the same Some take longer than others Some are gray and some are filled with colors In the end it’s not nearly about the difficulty or the forgotten days It’s about you and what you learned along the way

Abuse is as terrible as it sounds. If you have never been abused, then you have no right to tell a victim how they should rebuild their strength or how they should fight back. If they want to cry or get angry, let them. You have to let someone come back to themselves. You have to let them grieve the person they left behind. It’s not your choice to say how or when.

Hold on to the ones who notice. They are usually the people who ask Are you okay Even when you’ve spent the whole night pretending.

It will not break you. Dust yourself off, take a step forward, don’t let them see you despair. You are more than a ghost on a lost highway.

Some will tell you not to be a sad person. They will encourage you to be happy, without realizing happiness is sometimes the greatest challenge. They will remind you that a sad life is not a life lived. But sadness is not a curse. It will not end you. Your life still has meaning, even if sadness plays a large part. Just remember if sadness has room in your heart, so does happiness.

Everybody gets lost and it is hard to come home again It’s like saying to your soul I want to find you But neither of you know where to start

We love, we laugh, we cry, and we break. We plan, we wish, we take risks. And we do all this until our last breath. Cherish each moment.

You are not defined by the stage you are at in life. Just because you are unsure of where you are heading doesn’t mean you don’t know who you are inside.

She doesn’t open up easily and she has high walls. Cautious about leaping into arms that won’t catch her if she falls. She gives plenty, more than enough. But sometimes in the early hours she comes undone.

Some chapters will be harder to read than others.