Wow. Over two years since I started thawing my frostbitten heart. I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I was any of the people who wrote in this blog before me; I've changed so much. I still have so many questions about who I am and why I feel so different, but I'm really doing so much better. Don't get me wrong, I have days that are absolute hell, but they don't touch what I used to feel everyday. My relationship with God has been kind of rocky, mainly in relations to sexuality and feeling unaccepted, same as always. It's hard for me to believe in an unconditional love, especially in a culture where everywhere you turn you have someone saying you're not deserving of God's love, or that simply being as you are is a sin. I've never experienced a love without limitations, despite being in an extremely low financial bracket growing up, my parent's attitudes, specifically my mother's was very "waspy." I've felt like I was wrong my whole life, as long as I can remember. I changed elementary schools twice because I couldn't fit in, and almost transferred my senior year. I've struggled with so much in my youth, with self harm, self hatred, an (undiagnosed but met dsm criteria) eating disorder, coming to terms with many forms of past abuse, coming to terms with my sexuality and spirituality, poverty, feeling isolated and humiliated. And that's just parts of it, but despite everything, I still believe in a bright future for myself. I still believe in the hope that's there. I may not always see it, or think it. There's days where I want my world to end, there's days where I struggle to keep my head above water. There's days where I feel so much and absolutely nothing at the same time. And days I feel invincible and so wonderful and bright, even though I know it's to be followed by darkness. But at the end of every day, I know I can close my eyes and pray that tomorrow I'll be stronger, better, and closer to my purpose than the day before. I believe.