Beneath the Surface was where the healing began. It’s the section where my struggle came into the light, no longer hiding in shadows or buried under denial. Writing through the challenge, I found that most of my words belonged here—because isn’t life just that? Day in and day out, growing and healing.
But this section was pivotal. It was the moment when I stopped telling myself I know every time I faced a challenge. How many times had I said those words, only to repeat the same patterns that kept me stuck? I know. Those two words blinded me to the truth: I wasn’t growing. I wasn’t doing the work. I was stalling, trapped in a cycle of pain and reaction.
Writing became my guide. It showed me where I had made progress and where I was still avoiding the hard work. It became a barometer of my healing.
Some days, I just wanted to write something creative—a short story, a flowing poem. I’d close my eyes, fingertips electric on the keyboard, waiting for inspiration. But instead of stories, memories surfaced. Moments when I had lost control. Times when I buried myself under pain, unable to manage life with any sense of clarity. Those moments shaped the words I wrote.
And in those words, I found a path forward. Writing made clear what was working and where I needed to change. It guided me to a deeper connection with myself—a self I had barely known.
This section was raw. It was vulnerable. It exposed parts of me I didn’t want to face. Yet I kept going. I poured my energy into every word, and in doing so, I built strength. I infused those pages with the power of discovery—the knowledge that something within me was finally working. Something was saving me.
Life is a process of learning. Nobody grows without struggle. Every seedling must be weathered by the elements before it gains the resilience to bloom. And beneath the surface, in the depths of pain and challenge, that’s where true growth begins.