The Places I've Cried in Public

by Holly Bourne

We leave behind echoes of our lives everywhere we go, trapping them into the fabric of the world around us.

Good memories exist in the naivety of not knowing any better.

I guess a happy memory is only logged and labelled accordingly if you can live in a moment without fear of it going wrong.

Crying is a very obvious sign that something isn’t going right in your life. You should not ignore tears.

“Sometimes,” Joan said, “people we love can behave in very confusing ways. And if someone is treating us inconsistently it can have a confusing, almost drug-like effect on us.”

I’m starting to think lows aren’t worth highs – not in love. Not in something where the most important thing is to feel safe.

I guess one of the biggest misconceptions about love is that you can only love one person at one time. Whereas I’m starting to think hearts can compartmentalize. That a heart can grow walls in itself, with chambers specially reserved for each person we fall in love with – making it possible to have feelings for one person without that impacting the feelings you have for another.

Sometimes we tell ourselves stories of How Things Should Go, and we get angry and upset when life doesn’t go to plan. And, sometimes, I’ve realized, we tell ourselves stories of Let’s Imagine The Worst And Pretend It’s The Truth, without actually checking in with real life to see if our dark make-believe is grounded in any reality.

You can’t force pain to leave until it’s ready to.