My Journey Back Into The Wild

I stepped back into the wild the day I looked out at the world and said no more.⁣ I said no more to the judgment that stuck to me the way campfire lingers in our hair.⁣ I said no more to the expectations that once reeled me in like a call from an old lover.⁣ I said no more to society’s image of perfection that I never saw in my own reflection.⁣ I said no more to the pressure that weighed on my chest and kept my emotions hidden.⁣ I said no more to the lie that everything is fine and that this life is under control.⁣ I said no more to the words I held back and tears I held in — drowning in my own truth.⁣ I said no more to being someone worth loving without first loving myself.⁣ I said no more to the mask I had been wearing just to try and fit in.⁣ I said no more to the manicured lawns and picket fences, and I bulldozed them all.⁣⁣ I said no more to boundaries that were ignored and dreams I was told were too big.

I stepped back into the wild the day I looked out at the world and said no more. I said no more of being someone I’m not, and I stepped out of the fire and the ash as the person that I have been all along — naked and free of the expectations placed on me. This is who I am, in all my vulnerability. Take me as I am, or don’t take me at all. And don’t you dare try to tame me now, because as soon as I found my voice, I also found my roar.