maturity is knowing that when your mood is down you should not trust the way you see yourself - Yung Pueblo

we never wanted to argue, but it kept happening because that is what hearts do when they are overflowing with old pain

The understanding of self-love that makes the most sense to me is much more internal. It is the way you relate to yourself with compassion, honesty, and openness. It is meeting every part of yourself with unconditional acceptance, from the parts that you find easy to love, to the rough and imperfect parts that you try to hide from. Self-love begins with acceptance, but it does not stop there. Real self-love is a total embrace of all that you are while simultaneously acknowledging that you have room to grow and much to let go of.

her rebirth was stunning-
she lifted herself up from
the depths of despair,
grasped her dreams,
embedded them in her heart,
and walked forward into
a future that only her will
and vision could control