Dear Me

“Dear Me” is a letter to every version of myself that thought she was too much, too sensitive, too broken, or too difficult to love. It’s about the kind of exhaustion that sleep can’t fix. Carrying things nobody else can see. Apologizing for feelings that were never wrong to have. Looking back at the younger version of yourself and realizing she didn’t need to be tougher—she needed someone to protect her, understand her, and remind her that she deserved gentleness too. For a long time, I thought healing meant becoming someone different. Now I think maybe it means finding your way back to the person you were before the world taught you to be afraid of being yourself. That’s what the cover represents. Adult Bella reaching through the cracked mirror toward her younger self. The cracks are still there, because healing doesn’t erase what happened. But now there’s light coming through them. They’re no longer proof that she’s broken. They’re proof that she stayed. “Dear Me” is for the girl I was, the woman I’m becoming, and every version of me in between. And if you need these words too: You were never too much. Your scars are not proof that you failed. You’re allowed to heal slowly. And if all you managed to do today was keep going… I’m proud of you. — Bella Noir