I know maybe I sound like a broken record at this point, but I can not emphasise enough the appreciation and gratitude I feel for the people in my life. That being said, I've been going through a lot lately (hence the slowed postings), and they have been EVERYTHING to me. But, silly people, fear not and know by now that nothing keeps me down. I made it through (with help, as mentioned) and came out stronger, better, and willing to share what I picked up along the way.
The main overarching lesson of the day: Self-improvement. You can't control or change others. All you can do is work on you. How you handle things. How you approach things. Self-awareness is pretty key here, and I've always kind of stressed that as an important quality. You can't be honest with others if you're not honest with yourself. Doesn't mean you have to hate yourself or beat yourself up over it. Just know. Think more along the lines of facts than judgements.
Semi-related note: By bettering yourself, you can kind of make everything around you better too. The only way I could feel better about the heaping piles I've been going through was when I stopped thinking about how ridiculously unfair it was that this was happening to me, and focused on combating it with positivity instead. I wrote. A lot. Things I was grateful for. People I was happy to have in my life. Things I loved about certain people. I started dishing out thank-yous, lending an ear wherever possible, tossing out compliments and, cliche as it sounds, did some yoga and meditation. I did my absolute best to throw nothing but good vibes out into the universe and maybe because I felt so ridiculous about it all, I actually started to feel better. Those compliments, thank yous, and small gestures made the people around me light up. How could I not beam along with them?
I know this post may be a little off my usual kind of writing but I needed to take advantage of an opportunity to maybe help anyone going through the same kinds of nonsense, so if it helped you, I could not ask for more. If it didn't, sorry, regular content will be up soon.
TL:DNR if everything around you is ugly, you're all the beauty the world needs. It's just a matter of bringing that to your surroundings.
And it's on that note I leave you with the below. I know Harley is played out to death right now and to be honest the whole fad has put me off my once-favourite character (because I'm just hipster like that) but this felt fitting for today's theme and vibe. It's beautiful. It's artistic (from the incredibly talented Delyais). And it had no other point than to maybe make someone's day. Enjoy.