Be the person you needed when you were younger -Ayesha Siddiqi

This quote changed my life.

When I started therapy, I had to learn to come to terms with my past. It couldn’t be changed. No matter how much I wished things could have been different, they weren’t.

The only thing I had control over was the “right now.”

That’s when I chose to work with the youth group in our church. Colorado had a high teen suicide rate and kids were struggling.

I wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t know what I was doing, but I showed up. What would have helped me? Someone who listened. Someone who cared. Someone to give me hugs. Someone to tell me how awesome I was. So that’s what I did.

In loving those kids unconditionally, I learned to love myself the same way. It was very healing.