“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

When I say “keep going,” I don’t just mean moving forward in a physical sense. For those of us with OCD, “keep going” is an attitude toward existence itself. It is choosing to remain open to life, even when the present feels unbearable or uncertain. The important part is that “keep going” has no fixed finish line. It doesn’t promise that one day the struggle will vanish or that everything will finally make sense. Its power lies in persistence itself. It is not about completing the battle once and for all, but about refusing to collapse into despair. Meaning is not discovered at the end of the road, but in the very act of walking it… step by step, day by day. This is why persistence is key. Persistence is not abstract or vague; it is concrete. Every time you resist the urge to check again, every time you sit with the discomfort instead of giving in, every time you choose to take the next step despite the weight pressing against you… that is persistence. And persistence shapes you. The weight may not get lighter, but you get stronger, like someone training with resistance. For me, I’ve found that persistence is not about reaching a final end but about cultivating a lifestyle, a way of being that leans toward goodness. It is faithfulness to life itself, even in its ambiguity. It is choosing hope, even when hope feels faint. By staying in the struggle, we keep ourselves open to the possibility of something new, something redemptive, something more than we can see in the moment. So to “keep going” is to resist closure. It mirrors the human condition itself: uncertain, unfinished, yet still full of possibility. We do not know the future, but as long as we persist, we remain agents within it. To stop going is to shut the door on what could be. To keep going is to leave that door open, even just a crack, and to affirm life’s possibilities, however small they may seem.

Hiieee "Be the change that you wish to see in the world" "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" "You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around". I love ❤️ all these sayings. Today I realize that African American people seem to not be willing to allow others to grow and "be." Some have the most difficult time in letting go of the pass and watching someone change. I find it very disheartening to see this. People want to constantly make me my mistake in the past or constantly want to force me to believe I have grown from or changed. They don't understand that just because you don't believe in me doesn't mean that I do not. All of my past mistakes are linked. And because I am able and willing to think positively, let go of past pains, and move forward. There are many people around me who wants me to remain STUCK, DESOLUTE. To fall back in old habits and be the person that I look like on paper. They want to keep you in a traumatized state of mind to see, "What will help." SMDH It's said that people purposefully hurt others for a thrill. Or are that intrusively nosey that try to use the correct acupuncture pin site to seat it all up to flames. Giggles I have a very high tolerance, but zero for BS. These are so-call Community helps. I don't play games, I just adapt to what is given to me. Always have always do. You can only work with what you have, right? But I am not that person that they want me to be. What they will never understand I that person is a survivor. And just because you don't believe in what she has survived and the repeated traumas she fought through and got away from is not on her its on you. I was once as by an Official body to write down all my pass issues that I could remember where I had gotten myself in trouble. To write the date and year, who I was with and what happen. Then truly write why did it happen. I did. After I completed that document and a re-read it back to myself I felt humiliation and dumb. But it also made me feel like I won at the same time. But I just took it as a win and then let that feeling go. Once I gave it to that requesting person, they said they read the document. Then they asked me how do I see myself. I said I am a person, I been there some things but I've managed and I am still here. As we spoke they said something that I did not equate to. Because for me since I am a fighter, and will fight through obstacles... they said "you have been through a lot of traumas and abuse you entire life. Do you think you experience PTSD? .... ? I've never looked at it like that..... It was life. Most people around me were going through worse shit and I'd get caught helping them with theirs so I could not be bothered with mine. It's what I could do to feel better until I could change it. In that moment once I got off the phone with that person. I read it from their perspective. It was very sad, it had a life time line that I did realize I had created. I wanted chronological order when I wrote because it help me to not miss the pieced. That person seen trauma, I seen pain and try to hold on to thing that I could not make better. I remember a Pastor saying to me, sometimes when you want to heal or even change to get better, you must change the people around you. That say bleeds my heart. That saying bleeds my heart. I have a enlarged bloody heartthrob is always about to explode. Over the years I have been very careful about who I allow to get close to me, to real know me. Of course all else is splattered on my background. But it is very minimal of those who KNOW KNOW ME and real love me. My youngest brother, I miss him so much. Since he has pass I have been wanting to talking him. Our last face to face we fought like cats and dogs. I knew why he cam to see me, he was reaching out to me and needed me. My baby brother never comes my way unless he needs me. Because he knew I have never let him fall. He was lost but he did see that I was running. He just thought I could snap my fingers and make it all be, "for him" like I always did. But he could not see me, mine. It is so much pressure when you have have your family who has their nose turned up and they ALL come to you to save them. No judgement, no words, just an open door, you're safe. My home, you'll always be safe, comfortable and can gain peace... and some reality... it you want to talk about it. But I could help at that time because I was running. And he didn't because he knew if I wanted to be done with someone, I was done. So he came with his ideas of how he could transition to where I was bit he never heard shit I was saying. And he is a hand full. And I would have down it but I wants ready nor it the right position. I know my family and I know what they expect of me even though they will never say it in positive or motivated way. He did, all the time... even cursing each other. My family will never, ever, ever, admit that my door had always been opened to them. They will never , ever, ever admit that they came to me to help them through in there lifetime more than once. My behaviors sometimes was a little unorthodox but it got shit done, right. My brother depended on me like I was his mother, I saved him as much as I could. He was the type that as soon as you'd tell him he was fuckijg up ... all of a sudden he was a grown as man. I could never waot for him to say those words to me. Because a soon as I fixed things and taught things, and organized his adventures and disadvantages... he was a grown man again. And when he wasn't there yet every male figure around me was a threat. The shit was crazy. He asked once, am I your blood. I said, Yes, babe bro you are. He said you trick those guys you date better than me. I said I do not. I am very strict with you because I know you and I know when you are about to get yourself in trouble. You get restless and you start talking dumbshit. My guy friends get it too. But you're mine, my family I want you alive. I have the rights to you know them. He alway worried about me get married again, so scared of someone taking me away somewhere and him not being able to follow. I promised him that I was go nowhere the he couldn't come. If I did, I'd help him get to me. I alwaus do. I think about him today because I need him. And if I would call him right now he and a slew of unknowns would have been here yesterday. Because he would ask me, &$*%#% what you need? What you need me to do to make it happen? How much you got to spare? And say OK, bet. I got you babe, don't stress or worry about a thing. But I lost that guy in 2023 and need. The point of this THEY WANT YOU TO BREAK, THEY WANT YOU TO FALL, THEY WANT TO SEE YOUR ROCK BUTTON AND THEY WANT YOU SEE YOU FALL BACK INTO YOUR OLD WAYS. WHY ... It makes them feel at ease for not being able to help you. It's there excuse they give themselves to not care.

Changing plays a part on ALL your senses. 1. Emotional Attachment Past experiences, especially those tied to love, loss, or trauma, often carry strong emotions. These feelings can linger and make it hard to move forward, especially if the past felt safer or more meaningful than the present. Stop fully investing in anyone (new) in 2003. 2. Unresolved Issues When something from the past remains unresolved — like unanswered questions, regrets, or unfinished business — the mind tends to revisit it, trying to make sense of it or find closure. Solved it all. say my peace , straight then ✌🏽. Key: all parties must take ownership of their part. And admit the truth that they don't want to see, or feel the pain from. My growth and healing does NOT depend on them. Sorry 3. Identity and Self-Perception People often define themselves by their past. If someone has built their identity around a particular experience or relationship, letting go can feel like losing a part of themselves. Partially agree. I do not identity with my past in that way. I was a runner so I wouldn't have to. 👎🏽✌🏽 4. Fear of the Unknown The future is uncertain, and the past is familiar. Even if the past was painful, it can feel safer than stepping into something new and unknown. WAS TRUE but from age 14 until not I am over it. Sometimes change is serenity and I love ❤️ that. 5. Guilt or Shame Some people hold on to the past because they feel guilty or ashamed about something they did or didn’t do. That emotional weight can make it hard to forgive themselves and move on. From a teenager to now, I have learned that my same stemmed from me being raised in church and hearing Bible verses in Mt head when I was deciding what was bad or good. Right or wrong in my parents eyes. It spent a lot of my adult young age years dealing with my morals and beliefs. Trying to be "good" and trying not to be a 'Statistic". At about 28, I threw those towels in. Because no matter what I did good people still labeled you. So I flipped a bird and decide that I didn't need anyone to reassurance me about nothing because I already know who I am. If they don't believe me then who gives a ahit, I dont. 6. Nostalgia and Idealization Sometimes, people romanticize the past, remembering it as better than it actually was. This idealization can make the present feel disappointing in comparidon't. I remember the buttlefies, and puppy dog tails because I want to. I also remember the perspectives for each of my siblings. The thing about it all is I had to force them to admit to the good stuff. They were old, so as a younger kid, it was like pulling teeth to get them to admit to the fun stuff. My problem with that is why hold onto ALL NEGATIVE SHIT AND NO POSITIVE? That by itself is miserable AF and I don't do things to myself like that. So when my family said your were a kid, your weren't even paying attention. I would bust their head by reciting what I knew and understood about each one of them. What mom had said in a problem directly to them, how she told them to fix, what they ask dad about and what he said know to, and who got mage at him and held it against him until he died. I felt the shit when you went through knuckle head... because I was there. I seen all yall tears, fears, AND brawls. Just because I wanted to smile didn't mean I did understand your scars. I believed in family and I also believe in love. I believe that good alway win. So I took that path. Shit was not that bad any, not she died and we all was separated. They do know the half... why because they would have hold some of the responsibility. The end 😝 You pass don't determine you. It's just a peace you. Those who don't want to let go of YOUR PAST, leave them there. And keep moving forward. Being there, done that and dues are paid. Thanks