Home is where the heart is

On Sunday, it will be my first year anniversary living in a new city. A year ago, I could not even picture in my head the kind of trouble I was getting myself into. I feel like I have grown more in one year than I have in all my life. I have seen the ugly side of people, of things, of life. My naive, carefree self is gone, and I have had to learn many things the hard way. But even after all these harsh experiences that have tried to strip away my essence, a little spark in me remains, a flame that screams who I am to the world, a voice that has never pronounced my name more clear and more loudly. I am who I am thanks to all those tears, smiles, broken-hearted dreams, and sleepless nights. I am not afraid to be my unique self anymore, because everything I do has my personal signature in it. I am me, and I have never been happier to be me.

If you never say your name out loud to anyone, they can never ever call you by it.

 ~Regina Spektor