At the end of the day it only comes down to how proud you are of yourself. Of how you picked yourself up every time you fell. It's not about how minuscule or gigantic something you've gone through is as compared to others, rather, how only you and you alone would have experienced that magnitude. It is impossible to compare yourself to another, every human's timing is different. It's all about the determination and willpower, the fire in your bones and the steady, grounding thoughts in your mind that drove you to become softer, yet heal your wounds and to stand taller and walk with pride. It's all about the lessons you learnt from every single instance when this dreary and somewhat bleak world pushed you down. You are not a graveyard of your failed attempts, you are not a cemetery of things and people that left you alone, you are the whole ocean, filled with a plethora of potential and goodness, that the whole world gazes at and admires.

Tears falling from the eyes
Heavy sigh that comes from the mouth
Eyebrows trying to meet each other
Nose shining through the redness
I remind myself,
It's a beautiful phase

You are integral to the functioning of this universe,
You hold merit in your pursuit and ambitions,
Be present with your body and still your mind,
You are capable of overcoming even the worst hurdles life has to offer,
This too shall pass,
Be patient with yourself.

Flashes of the past,
like light flickering
from a nearby stream,
are a tacit reminder
of all that I could have been.

Remember the iron cage
When dreaming of drifting
Through the milkyway with her
Sweet talking through nebula lit nights

When etching promises
Into the garden fence
With ruby red ink
Remember the way
She ties you up and drains your blood
And chips shards from your bones
To sculpt her pens

There's a reason we don't normally walk backwards. Train yourself, focus on what's ahead of you and take action.