As a writer, I've been blessed with the ability to express myself through words. As a person, I've been blessed with a life worth writing about. As another year passes, I find myself on the edge of the unknown, on the brink of something new. The bright lights from the heavens shine down on me and, for once, I don't feel alone. 

Being twenty-two I've learned that patience and routine are essential to how I live my life. I used to think monotony ruled the evils in my brain but now realize God gave me a weathered mind for a reason; a greater purpose bigger than myself. Channeling the creativity in my brain gets harder every year but it teaches me that perseverence is an attribute worth having. 

I thought I never had a childhood worth writing about but now I realize how growing up with an alcoholic father gave me the strength to tell my story. Everyone has a story to tell no matter how big or small. Words teach us to be patient while caught up in the moment. Words bind us together no matter how you use them. They keep us kind, humble, and passionet. They give hope to the ones stuck in darkness, they give love to the abused. And, they always keep wonder blooming within our hearts.

I use words as a sort of therapy. Without them I'd be lost, weak, and maybe even dead. They gave me hope while I stood on the edge of my own life, faith when I needed it most. Words allowed me to reconnect with my faith, my family, and ultimately myself. It isn't until you see the darkness when you realize how important words are to the soul. It isn't until you've witnessed death when you realize how words heal the wounded. And, it isn't until you've tried taking your own life when you realize how words have given you a second life, one worth living. 

If you ever find yourself on the edge remember to breathe. Wait it out, take a breath, and remember how the words used to move your soul. Remember how they gave you light, how a simple sentence written the right way used to guid you back to earth. Remember that you are more than a dingy suicide note found in a box under the stairs, how the errors in your writing gave you a platform for something new, how the creases in that note maps out a new route for your heart, how you are more than your insecurities and false beliefs about life.

Remember to use your words kindly, for using them to hurt others will only allow yourself to fall back down the rabbit hole. Words are everywhere, you use them daily. You sing along to them every hour of the day. You scribble them within the margins of your homework. You abide by them in the grocery store. Words are second healing. Remember to live, laugh, and use your words as you see fit.