How strange to be back here after so much time, an untouched vault of my compulsive expression. Everything has changed in so many ways, yet I still battle some of the same demons with which I struggled so desperately before. I think I finally have the upperhand, at least. It's amazing the way you can change your life once you finally have the tools to deal with things. Sometimes I feel so far behind in my personal evolution compared to others my age around me, but now that I know I was never given the tools that others got, I am progressing in ways I never thought I could and I am learning to go easy on myself, something I've never been good at doing.

Even now, reading through some of my old entries, I want to shake that girl and tell her to love herself, to realize her worth. I want to set her soul alight.