Write; don�t bleed.

Eat; don�t die.

It�s a simple concept and I know you have the wisdom to heed these words.

All these thinly veiled allusions to self-mutilation are getting old and sepia-toned and, while nostalgia can be interesting, you don�t want to live it. Grow back into the person you know you are and stop hiding in the child you were then, when you started all of this. While it�s untrue that men don�t want women above 20, it is true that they don�t want women who hurt themselves willingly. Don�t say that you are not the one controlling it; we both know it�s nothing but you behind the razor, choosing to hold onto the pain rather than to let it bleed onto a page and out of you. Trust me, all this self-torture really isn�t worth it.

Ink; not blood.

Draw.

Write.

Compose.

I know that your behavior is not a source of pride for you. Do you really want to have to hide parts of who you are from the ones who want to love you? Or is it all part of the game, this letting them want to love you only to turn them away so that you can keep these habits that you feel are steadfast companions?

Go ahead and tell me that I don�t know pain. You know I have and that I am coming from a place that has healed. No, I never turned to the razor for false solace, but I did build walls so thick they cannot be broken, only climbed. I resent these walls and it will take only me to pick up the sledgehammer.

Don�t make these mistakes.

I�ve lived them and can say that the future only becomes harder when they loom.

I wouldn�t say this if I didn�t care.

Hear me?

I.

Care.