The Half of It

by Madison Beer

You’ll never walk in my shoes, and I’ll never walk in yours. And we shouldn’t have to in order to empathize with each other.

the emphasis on celebrities in this generation is teaching kids that in order to be valid, they have to be seen

fame is merely a side effect of the career I’ve chosen. It’s not the reward or the end goal.

“Your anxiety is lying to you.” I try to keep a mental list of all the times where I’ve proven my anxiety wrong, so I can look back at them when I’m in that same anxiety-blinded headspace. I use it as a way of rewiring my brain.

I set small goals, just to prove to my brain and my body that positive experiences can come from facing your fears.

I was abusive toward myself and allowed other people in my life to get away with that same behavior, simply because I felt like I deserved it.

I bring this up because I want to emphasize how much having a true and loving friend in this world can help or change someone’s life.

All this to say, there are people out there who will love you for you, and there are people out there who want to.

At my lowest, I wasted a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, convinced that my misery was the hardest thing I would ever go through. But it was actually my journey to find healing that was the hardest—I had to start by believing I was even worthy of feelings like happiness and joy in the first place.

With so many things working against me and my body, I can’t afford to let myself be one of them.

Everyone deserves a true friend. Even if it’s only one person.