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Dear Younger-Me,

I hope you know

How much farther

You'll need to go

Before you reach

The star you seek,

But don't give up.

Don't give up on me.

This life is hard;

It's out for you,

To make lies out of

What you know is true

And feel in your heart

No matter the pain

Or scars that you've earned,

Like black battle stains.

You're innocent youth;

You don't understand

Just how evil it is,

How red are its hands,

This world that you know

And so long to see,

And I know the truth,

But I'll let you believe,

'Cause it's beautiful,

The song that you sing,

A sweet lullaby

That lifts up your wings

And lets you take flight

Into stormy skies

That rattle your bones

And stifle your cries,

But you won't back down;

You won't quit to fly,

Though it's darker still

Each time to try

To touch that star,

Bring it to land,

Close to your heart,

Held in your hand

With all of its strength

And all its bright glow.

Your dream is loud,

And so you know

That you'll fly and fall

Then try once more

'Til you reach the height

You're climbing towards,

Growing higher

The more you climb,

And darling, it's true;

You'll have to strive

So much longer

Before you're there,

There in the stars,

There in the air

Where you can breathe,

Fully and freely,

Finally alive,

Finally freewheeling

In breathtaking space,

The colors, the lights,

The brightest of shows

On the darkest of nights.

It's hard to believe,

For me, not for you.

Your courage is strong,

Your will to push through

Is younger than mine,

Than my weary heart

That finds itself right

Back at the start

Of the weary journey,

The mountain it scaled

And tumbled back down

As it cried and wailed

In broken endurance,

Struggling to stand,

A sort of exhaustion

You can't understand

In the pride you feel,

The strength of spirit

Firm in your soul,

So young and fearless

And so unlike me,

The girl you become,

Breathless and wasted

And coming undone

From an endless game

She can't seem to win,

'Cause life caught up,

And life always wins.

No, life never cheats,

But life's never fair,

And so, my dear friend,

Please do prepare

For all of the hurdles

I know you will face

Today and tomorrow

And all through the race

Of ambition you run

Without second thought,

'Cause your reckless courage

Is all that you've got

To fuel your pursuit

Of gold destiny

And run away from

The dark tragedy

That turned you to me

With all of my scars

And all of my pain

That rips me apart

And keeps me from you

And your bright, wide eyes

Alive with ambition,

Burning inside

With fire, with passion;

Don't let it die now.

No, darling, don't let it;

Don't let it burn out.

It's all that you have;

It's all that will stay

When life knocks you down,

It can't kill the flame

That flares in your soul

No matter the length

Of the road you walk

Or rocks in your way.

Dear Younger-Me,

I know you know

That life can hurt

And you heal slow,

But don't give up

On that star you seek.

No, don't give up.

Don't give up on me.

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As long as you keep trying, you can't ever fail. It's not over til you let it end, til you give it up, give up on the dream, the ambition. Life is hard. Life will beat you, bruise you, chew you up and spit you out. Life hurts. Life will hurt you. You can't stop that. But, you can stop trying, stop striving, stop dreaming, or you can stop letting life stop you. Just because it hurts doesn't mean it has to be the end. <3