Dear Fear,
You are the shadow born from my past, the echo of words and actions that were never mine to carry. You came to life when others hurt me, judged me, or silenced me. I learned to hide because it felt like the only way to survive.
I sacrificed pieces of myself to keep the peace, to avoid rejection, to make myself smaller in the hopes I wouldn’t be noticed—or hurt again. Every day, I buried my voice because speaking up often led to pain. I wore masks to be what others demanded, even when it meant losing the “me” that lived underneath.
There were times I let myself believe that their words, their actions, and their judgments defined me. I accepted blame for their cruelty, shame for their failures, and silence for their comfort. To survive, I built walls around my heart and turned away from my reflection.
But surviving like that came at a cost. I abandoned dreams that felt too big for someone as “damaged” as I thought I was. I let fear convince me I didn’t deserve joy, love, or success. The weight of hiding and sacrificing myself became unbearable, and the person I could have been slipped further and further away.
Now, I see that I wasn’t broken; I was protecting myself the only way I knew how. You, my fear, were my shield. You helped me endure, but your protection came at a price I can no longer afford to pay.
So, here’s how I will face you: I will reclaim myself piece by piece. I will confront the voices that told me I was unworthy and replace them with my voice—one that speaks of love, compassion, and strength. I will let the pain from the past remind me not of who I am, but of how far I’ve come.
I will face the abuse, the neglect, and the pain that scarred me and know that while it shaped parts of me, it is not who I am. I am not defined by the years I spent hiding. I am defined by the courage it takes to stand here now, to pull back the curtain, and to look at myself fully for the first time.
I will overcome you by acknowledging that I am more than what happened to me. My worth is not tied to the cruelty I endured or the lies I believed to survive. I am learning to see myself fully, not just through the lens of fear, but with the clarity of someone who knows their own value.
You won’t win because you are no longer my guide. I will write my story from here—one where I embrace all that I am, where I live boldly, and where I finally take back the life I was always meant to have.
Sincerely,
Jessica Weitgenant

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