Sometimes Easy Things are Hard to Say.

I don't know why it was weird to say I was proud.

It's really not something our parents said a whole lot, or even out loud.

I think about all the things I did.

I joined a lot of things; I was an outgoing kid.

From Girl Scouts to basketball, Spirit Club, Journalism, band, and choir.

I've always had the urge to go, go, go. Maybe because I'm a Sagittarius, I'm made of fire.

I did most of these things alone, without real support or encouragement from others.

Maybe that's why when I get told I can't do something or can't go here or there, or never ask for help, because if so, I feel like I'm being smothered.

But that's enough about me; the point I was trying to make was things I had to convince myself to say to you.

Yes, you were an asshole to me a lot when we were kids, but despite all that there's still a lot we've been through.

As we got older, we matured (a little) and became a bit closer as we grew.

That doesn't mean we don't have our arguments or our fights.

But we can still reminisce about some of the things we did, like walking around aimlessly in the desert at night.

Eventually you decided to do something you'd been back and forth at wanting to do.

For absolutely no reason, it seemed like I had to find the right words just to tell you I was proud of you.

I definitely did think to myself, that was really strange, and I wondered to myself why I felt that was something I couldn't say.

I eventually said what I wanted to, but the thought still crosses my mind to this day.

I mean, I guess it has a little to do with the way we were raised.

We thought the lack of compliments, affection, and empowerment was normal, we were unfazed.