to a father who showed up too late
im grateful that you were in my life at all, but why were you eight years late? do you know what kind of damage that did to me? or were you too drunk to care? i love you though, always. next time, call when im drunk too.

to the boy with a broken image of himself
you are not what you see in that mirror. that is not you, and one day what you see will be right. trust me, it will get better soon and everything will be okay. with love, that boy you know you are.

to the woman who single-handedly raised me
i know im a ******* *****, but thank you for doing your best to get me to where i needed to be. im sorry i didn't value you as much as i should have. thanks for putting up with my ****. also, next time you call me, id appreciate it if you would call me by my name. thanks, the son you didn't want but got stuck with anyways.

to the former lover with the broken wings and scars from falling from heaven
*******, you don't ******* miss me. you were bad for me and im glad i left when i had the chance.

to the boy with long hair who i love dearly, mostly platonically
im sorry i put you through hell. thank you for staying by my side through everything. you don't know how much i love you, or appreciate you. and hey, don't forget to smile.

to everyone who ever doubted me
i feel bad for you, because you've got to be a sad bunch of people to try and put down other people. you almost got me, almost. better luck next time.

to myself, ten years ago
i love you, so much. you are gonna do great things. keep your head up and reach for the stars. you've got this, kid