It is beautiful.

When I was a teenager, I was yelled at, a lot. I was told I was ugly, stupid, and unwanted.

It's hard to hear from a parent.

This parent was angry. Having never wanted children, she made sure I knew it and was gleeful in her insane hungover rampages, hungry for victims to her own misery.

It impeded me.

It took years of therapy to learn my own power in fighting against a tyrant. As I get older (I'm almost thirty - terrifying), I realize that I can do pretty much what I want, within reason. I can be whoever I want, no matter what anyone says. Even an authority figure with power over me. I can be free.

What's beautiful about this freedom?

Recently, I've made some big life choices. I moved and got a puppy. These are two things I never thought I'd do. I was always told not to be happy, that life is misery and then you die.

But what's cuter than a corgi?

The beauty in this world resides in overcoming the past, and pushing through to the present. Having dinner with friends at the new place, taking my puppy for a walk around the block. Nothing feels better than having strangers 'ooh' and 'ahh' at my adorable two-month old.

Nothing feels better than being free of what you thought you were.

To me, what's beautiful about life is that you can make it what you want. It gets easier as you get older. It took me twelve years of therapy to realize that I am a worthwhile human being, not useless, ugly, and stupid. I am my own entity.

What's beautiful about life is that it can only get more beautiful, the more opportunities to be happy you present yourself with.

It gets so, so much better. Remember that the haters don't live in a beautiful world.

But you can.