growth.

Artist: Debra Cartwright

"What does growth feel like to you?"

Stagnant.

Suffocating.

The most uncomfortable feeling I've ever felt.

In some moments I'm not sure if I'm growing or breaking.

I feel myself falling apart but I'm not sure if I'm shedding, producing a new layer, or if I'm broken.

Simply, I feel raw. Completely exposed to the world and every element.

I don't recognize myself, physically or mentally.

It's the most difficult thing I've ever gone through.

One thing I can't deny, and it's the reminder I have to reassure me that this is growth, and it's the aches. The aches are growing pains and I remind myself that the pain has the potential to birth a new strength.

Everyday I wake up amazed by the fact that I'm up to see a new day and that I made it through yesterday; I survived.

One day I asked myself "How?", and that's when I knew it was because I had become stronger.

If you have to ask yourself how then acknowledge that you did and figure out the details later.