Chapter 16: Letters to the Girl Who Didn’t Know Yet

Dear Younger Me,

You didn’t know then, but every time you swallowed your words just to keep the peace…

you were planting seeds of your own silence.

Every tear you cried behind closed doors, every moment you walked on eggshells, every time you questioned if you were too sensitive

that wasn’t weakness.

That was your soul recognizing betrayal before your mind could make sense of it.

You didn’t know that not everyone claps when you win.

You didn’t know that loyalty doesn’t guarantee protection.

And you sure didn’t know that some people only love you when you’re small enough to control.

But now?

Now you know.

You know that your voice was never too much it was just too real for the wrong ears.

You know that healing doesn’t always look like peace signs and therapy it looks like walking away, blocking numbers, praying hard, and crying harder.

It looks like starting over with nothing but your name and your truth.

And baby girl…

you made it.

You turned pain into pages.

You turned betrayal into boundaries.

You turned yourself into someone you’d be proud to become.

You didn’t need to be perfect.

You just needed to be you. And that was always enough.

Love,

The woman who finally chose herself.

Poem:

“ She Ain’t Who She Used to Be”

She used to keep quiet

when they twisted her name.

Now she blesses herself

and walks away.

She used to explain

every ache in her chest.

Now she lets silence

do all the rest.

She used to beg

for rooms she outgrew.

Now she builds doors

they can’t walk through.