The bricks that built me

Bricks. 

They build houses (and ovens that make fantastic pizza.) But they also destroy windows. 

So where does that put people? Do bricks build us or destroy us?

Every brick that built me started out as a stumbling block. 

A stumbling block that could have destroyed me.

The Bricks That Built Me

A brick for when my grandpa died.

A brick for the friends who convinced me that being cool meant

that you had to make everybody else feel miserable.

A brick for how I felt like an outcast when I decided to leave that group.

A brick for the boy that called me a bitch.

A brick for how much I hated myself in 8th grade for not being pretty enough.

A brick for the first time the devil knocked at my window.

A brick for my 16th birthday party.

A brick for the first time a boy stood me up.

A brick for when I lost my very best friend.

A brick for the first time I sat on a couch in the therapist’s office.

A brick for all of the times after that.

A brick for the second time the devil knocked at my window,

And a few bricks for the thoughts he put in my head.

A brick for everyday I ate lunch behind the baseball field alone.

A brick for all the times I took the long way home from work.

A brick for Monday, September 29th.

A brick for the boy who wouldn’t let me watch the movie.

A brick for every time I told him “No.”

A brick for my insecurities,

And a brick for my friend who likes to point them out.

A brick for every time I thought I was special--

A brick for every time I was wrong about that.

A brick for every fear about my future,

And a brick for all the sleep I continue to lose over it.

When these blocks were placed in my path, I stumbled.

And I stumbled hard.

I tripped and I face-planted on the concrete. 

But each time I rose from the cement,

and turned around to see what broke me,

All I saw was a brick.

I knew I could put it to good use,

So I kept it and started building.

With bricks labeled "adversity,"

And mortar labeled "strength,"

I built the person I am today.

And I may only be 5'3", but I'm starting to feel a lot taller than that...

Because I’m not done building.