The House You Live In

Callie Shaw
February 2022

The words you speak become the house you live in-

Choosing today to be grateful for the beautiful things my body allows me: lungs that laugh harder than anyone else, a heart that loves more than the average person, eyes that see the good in the world, a brain that thinks deeply and meaningfully, hands that write with honesty and humility, feet that walk bravely into each new day.

NEDA Week 2022 - a new appreciation for the struggling I have done in silence for so long.

One day I'II step back and look at the house I've built and appreciate it for all its grit, imperfection, magic. Each crack in the pavement a showing of the fight it took every day.

I look my 5-year-old self in the eyes and tell her to never stop running around in bikinis, dancing in the crashing ocean waves, wrapping up in a big towel, eating the street soft serve, and feeling warmth from within. That little girl deserves the world and I'll fight every day to get back to loving myself the way she once did.

Here's to building houses filled to the brim with gratitude and kindness; self love and joy escaping through the windows, welcoming friends to join inside.