Let your pain be pain. Don’t hide it under beautiful metaphors or a smile. For the love of God, don’t push it so far down that you’re walking every step on thorns. Let your pain bleed through. Holding onto the ache will not make you stronger. (Believe me, it will not.) Pain makes skeletons. It makes you bitter, angry, and numb. Gripping so tight that your knuckle turn white will not dilute the burn. It will wilt your soul. Pain does always not build character. It just hurts. Pain is a wound that festers. It will wait years upon years for it to be picked at. What do you believe will happen when it begins to bleed again? Let the pain flow. Let it slip out of your wounds and roll down your eyes. Let it pour out of your mouth till your voice is shaken to the core. You’ll thank yourself in time.