Your mother knows best, always.
2. You will promise to always be friends with people who you will eventually fall out of touch with. It's okay to be okay with this.
3. You will think you've lost a friendship, only to return and realize nothing has changed. Distance doesn't define a friendship.
4. It is okay to do whatever you need to do in order to feel alive. However, it is not okay to be self destructive. There is a fine line.
5. Space is not a bad thing. Sometimes you need to distance yourself in order to see the bigger picture.
6. Ask questions, even if the answer may hurt or embarrass or sadden you. Never allow yourself to be blinded.
7. You are no longer a naive little girl. You are a woman now, and you deserve to be treated like one no matter what. Don't make excuses for the people who make you feel like less.
8. It is okay to be scared. Embrace your fears, because when you do, your life will change for the better.
9. Make time to love and care for yourself. Sleep in, treat yourself to lacy underwear that only you will see, buy an $8 cappuccino even though you're broke.
10. Don't let others tell you what should make you happy. Only you know that, so don't let others guilt you into thinking you should be doing anything differently.
11. Turn off your phone when you need to get things done. If that means turning it off for the whole day, do it. You won't be missing out on anything, I promise.
12. Don't put up with people who make you feel like you are lesser than them. It's okay to walk away, without explanation.
13. Invest in a good pair of jeans, a high quality mascara, a bright red lipstick, and a push up bra. All of these will make you feel **** as hell.
14. Friendships aren't based on distance, time or proximity, but rather how much someone is there for you emotionally, consistently.
15. Sometimes, a night out with the girls is better medicine than anything else. Sometimes, you just need a good nights sleep.
16. You belong to you before you belong to anyone else. Don't let others feel as though they own you, or should come before you.

I will believe that I am valuable.
I will believe that time is too.

Seeing the year come to an end
I’m coming to see a slight bend
Not just in the way I talk
But also in the way I walk

They say your actions speak louder
Than your words—they fade to powder
You can say all you want, whenever
But it won’t remain for-ever

I’ve come to view the final conclusion
That the recent past has been a delusion
I know what I must do to change
Looking across the vast range

It’s time to take into consideration
The aftermath of mass obliteration
Building a new strategy, gradually
Even if I have to do so manually

Twenty fourteen has come and passed
I just knew it wouldn't last
Twas once so shiny and glimmering
Now my thought sessions are differing

I have now become older and wiser
Or at least obtained an equalizer
My time on earth is simply amazing
And I shall continue on with my gazing

Whether change truly occurs
Solemnly relies on what transfers
Tis my choice to what comes of it
And if I decide to just forget…
All of the bad
All of the sad
All of the blue
All of the boo
Perhaps I will change for the better…

-David Rombouts-

We sat on his bed as the clock clicked closer to midnight
we had love in our eyes and each other on our lips
he asked for my approval and oh how I loved him more when he cared enough to ask
we laid down on his bed and gave ourselves to each other
we smiled and laughed because we both knew that this was right and that for once in our lives we weren't making a mistake

New year, same me. Same aching in the pit of my stomach to get out get out get out

I can't push any harder, so I'll stop. I'm not defeated, because I'm still on my feet, right?

Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. I don't know if this could be considered winning, but I'm pretty sure it's a step in the right direction.

Maybe this year, with its nice rounded and whole-looking numbers, will be the year I grow a pair (*****? Wings?) and get out get out get *out