I stayed up all night,

staring at the ceiling,

I don't remember when it started,

but once it did, it became routine

It all started here,

the pain

the tears 

the doubt

the hesitation

the fake smiles

everything started by staring at the ceiling

I was young when I first came here

only started my pre-teens

I came here to read

to learn

but you know what I found?

I found life

I found strangers 

who were my friends at the same time

I found about abuse

How it impacts you

changes you

I found about love

how it nourishes or drains you

thus, changing you

I found about friendship,

how it makes you happy

how it makes you cry

how it teaches you about life

But, most of all, I found out about myself

how I had empathy inside me

how I felt pain when

reading about another's pain

how someone miles away

made me laugh

how I found a family

in millions of like-minded people

This is to thank you all

for making me smile

laugh

cry but in a good way

sob and

feel loved.

I wasn't suicidal

but on the verge of breakdowns.

This place, with its books, authors and readers

Saved me,

Nourished me,

Taught me,

And,

Made me.

A/N
Poems do come out best when written at 3 in the morning✨