One Friend Who Sees the Real You Can Make All the Difference
Climbing out of one of the darkest years of my life.
Hi there!
The green digital clock display on the dash of my Saturn SL2 said it was 1:42 a.m. I was driving northwest on I-24, headed for Nashville.
For weeks beforehand, I’d been hanging out in chat rooms on AOL. Yes, this was the early days of the internet. User DizzyatMidnight71 (or something similar) wanted to meet, and I thought, why not?
I knew nothing about them other than the few tidbits they’d shared online. Meeting a stranger in an unfamiliar city could have been the end of me. Part of me wanted it to be.
A louder, more impetuous voice screamed for me to go. Maybe Dizzy would be the friend I was looking for, a person I could show my scariest parts to, and they wouldn’t run away.
Dizzy and I made plans to meet at a restaurant near the interstate at 8:00 a.m. I was on course to be four hours early, but I sleep evaded me, so I got in my car and sped off.
My life was spinning out of control. As the blackness enveloped me, my heart stopped caring about everything. Live or die, it didn't matter. My family, my faith, my friends—I was ready to leave them all behind.
“Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.”
- Alan Cohen
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