It has been a long journey of self-discovery that I have been on probably the past 7 years. Until last year, it was hard to accept that all of my medications were helpful to me. I realized it was up to me. I needed to make better decisions about what I have eaten and drank in those years. None of those choices were wise. Nonetheless, I finally realized that I had to start making better, wiser choices. I needed to avoid doing the same old things just because they were what I wanted. I had to accept myself completely. I not avoid the hard realities of what I had to do. I needed to take care of myself both mentally and physically.

Hearing the hard truths about taking care of our mental and physical health can be challenging. I have seen others. I know they had to accept it and act properly. They did what they had to do, even though they did not want to. But what I had to continue to see was that it beat the other things that were prone to happen. I was tired of fighting a fight that I knew deep down I was not winning. Even though there were things I liked when I was not taking care of myself, I was living a lie. I was not healthy by any means.

I knew by not taking care of myself I was setting myself up for failure. I couldn’t see that at that very moment but those close to me did. Even if they reminded me, I had a hard time accepting what I knew I liked. Eventually, I realized I had to let go. I had believed my thoughts about what I was doing were flawed. It was hurting me more than helping me.

I realized I did not want to be a failure at the opportunities I had in life. To manage them and myself, I needed to accept things for what they were. It was hard to let go of what I had liked. Still, I had to admit that what I was doing was unhealthy. It was not normal for someone. I had to do what was right and accept what came with it as it was and who I was. It was hard to let go. Even though it was difficult, it was the right thing to do. Life became better for me and those around me.

Without a doubt it can be hard to face reality. I had accepted what I had to do for so long. When I moved on my own, I was not completely grounded. It has gotten better now. Even though I didn’t want to admit it at first, it was what I needed to do. This change made things so much better and easier to live life and face its challenges.

Yes, I have started to accept myself for who I really am. I understand what I must do to navigate life, even though it is challenging. I know I never want to make those bad decisions I made in the past. They made life as challenging as it was. Even though there were many things I regretted, I have let them go. I have started to move on with my life for the right reasons.