I would like to inform you that there is nothing wrong with me, besides the fact that I am half-starved out of my mind for love. I wish that I had somebody to talk to, somebody to hold at night, somebody to list as an emergency contact, and somebody to just be there, to share my life with. Most days, I do okay — I focus on the love I have for my kids, my pets, my plants, and my creative work. But deep down, my heart feels the emptiness: the lack of connection and companionship and even a basic sense of trust in the Universe. All the self-help books tell me that there is no person in the world who can provide the love I should be giving to myself, first. And so I try, as hard as I can every day, to balance out what is missing by being a great friend and companion to myself. I take myself for long walks; I care enough to check in with myself about how I’m feeling; and I take plenty of deep breaths when life starts to feel overwhelming, or just plain terrifying. So technically, yes, I would like to inform you that there is nothing wrong with me. All of my parts are in good working order, I am reliable and responsible, and every day I take steps out in the world to try to contribute what light I have inside me to the greater good. You might even look at a person like me and come up with a word like strong. So I suppose the only thing left to do is to wait a little longer, and hope that someday the time will come when my heart won’t feel quite so wrong, all alone by itself, anymore.❤️‍🔥—Y.B.D.