My Advice to my Younger Watchers

I know I am not the norm, being in my forties here on Tumblr and DeviantArt, but I want to offer my followers a little bit of "life experience" advice since I was you twenty or so years ago.

I see lots of worrying about your sexuality, or the lack of a partner, or problems with a partner, school, etc...

My advice? Accept yourself for who you are first. Don't give a rat's ass what other people label you, don't label yourself either, ignore the negativity. Believe me, once I really followed my own advice, my life got so much better. Live without the labels, live for you. When you do, you tend to attract people who are likeminded, you form good friendships that may or may not lead to relationships. But you stand on level ground and when you are at peace with who you are, so is everyone else. If they are not... why are you listening to that asshole anyway? No true friend will let you live in negativity much less keep you down to make themselves feel better.

Give your loyalty to people who earn it, say goodbye to those that make you feel less of a person. Trust me. Please. I have been where you are, I wasted the first 30 years of my life living in a box of labels other people placed on me, they locked me in that box and kept me in that box because I believed them, when you're put down often enough you do believe it. I had a terrible 8 year mentally abusive marriage that shredded every OUNCE of self-esteem I may have ever possessed.

Then, I nearly died for the first time. And Boy, when you wake up after a three wekk coma, quadriplegic, every muscle atrophied and dependent on total strangers to see to your every need? It fundamentally changes who you are, I got a chance to hit a "Restart" button on my life. My attitude changed, because at 27 I had to learn to do everything, walk, talk, eat, sit, stand, walk, etc... all over again.

Life really is fragile and it belongs only to *YOU*.

You decide your own fate.

You decide your own choices.

The only person you can control in this world is you.

Treat yourself like the precious life you are!

Please. 

I love each of you in various ways, you make my life richer and happier to call you friend.

You are Precious.

You are Special.

You are Unique.

Because YOU are YOU.

Please don't let anyone else tell you or worse make you think otherwise.