"Fathers, be good to your daughters.."

This was inspired by a little girl and her daddy walking hand and hand and talking at the park, a dad and his daughter riding bikes, a dad strolling with his son, dads coaching and practicing softball with their girls... things I never experienced with my own father. Never underestimate the effect of strangers or the effect you may have on them.

For all the cradling you never did
The bike rides we never took
The hands we never held
The steps you never helped me take

For all the dinners never had
The dances never danced
The monsters under the bed you never scared away

And all the advice you never gave
And the busy weekends you couldn't make
The trips we never took
All the tears you never wiped

The congratulations never given
Never telling me you're proud
That aisle we'll never walk down
And the family name I won't pass on

Everything you never taught me
Yet everything I learned
The cracks in my heart
The mending you'll never make

All the pain throughout the years
Yet one night you held me tight
The understanding that you afforded
Come undone when all was said and done

The forgiveness I think I'm ready for
The empty pot in my hands

The "Daddy's Little Girl" picture frame
Telling, telling lies

I'll never be good enough in your eyes
And that sad little girl still lingers and cries at the window when we say goodbye

Home is where the heart is. Inside of you.

I don't want to be subdued anymore. For too long I stifled myself. It's my own fault. I didn't want to stand out or be noticed. So I became more cookie cutter. I blended in. I did my best to become invisible. I lost myself.

And it's not that I want to be "seen" now. I want to be me. I want to wear what I want to wear and be comfortable in it, not worrying what someone else may think. This is who I am. I want to let that girl out.

I won't silence myself any longer. I won't stuff myself into a mold in which I do not fit. I dare to be "different" - even though we are all different. I dare to stand out in a crowd. I dare to be my own size, wear my hair however I want to, and parade around with the utmost confidence I can muster. I may even dare people to turn in my direction, wondering who I am and what I'm all about.

Because that's who I am deep down, God damnit. I was never one for fitting in.

I spent too much time feeling as though I didn't belong and my efforts to do so got me nowhere.

Now I see I don't need to belong anywhere. I just need to be me. Truly and fully.

I need to be authentic to myself. The real real me.

I won't silence myself another day. Because my worth does not come from how I look or who people want me to be.

I am worthy just as I am. Little ol' me.