To my old self, thank you.

The other day my sister came up to me with a photo of myself from two years ago. The photo is of the old me. The me still hung up on my ex. The me still afraid to really smile because of her messed up teeth. The me weighing 350lbs. The me still lost and searching for herself, love, and acceptance. When she showed me the picture I cringed. I hated that woman. She looked terrible. She was too fat, too ugly, and too sad. I wanted to rip up the picture and throw it away. I wanted to deny that she ever existed, or at the very least that I was ever her. But then I looked harder. I thought about how much I am trying to love myself, and accept who I am flaws and all. And then I realized I loved her.

No, I didn’t love the…