I need to feel that I still matter. I want someone to look at me and see all that I am—the passion, the strength, the vulnerability. I want to be wanted for my complexities, my contradictions, the qualities that make me unique. I need to know that I’m still captivating, that there’s still a part of me that can light up a room and draw someone closer. But more than anything, I need to remind myself that I’m worthy of love and attention, even if it means stepping out of the shadows of what my life has become and reclaiming a space where I can feel truly alive again.
