Bent not Broken

    Are people capable of being 'broken'? I can't ell you how many times I have called myself broken or damaged because of my experiences when I was younger. I used to use it as an attention ploy, I bathed in the pity and positive reinforcement . As I aged and grew more aware of myself and my quirks it started to be more of an adjective without positive or negative connotation. I guess it swung closer to the negative but I wasn't necessarily saying it in a self deprecating way. More like 'Hi I'm Lindsay, 23, Capricorn, brown hair, green eyes, glasses, broken.'
    What does that even mean? Broken emotionally? A bit dinged up I suppose. But COME ON NOW. Who isn't in some way or another? I'm torn between saying it with pride and saying there is no such thing.
    The more I think abut it the more I realize that saying you are broken means we have to be whole or complete or 'right' to begin with. I'm not sure that would be a true statement. Furthermore, whose to say that my dents and scratches aren't EXACTLY where they are supposed to be? And most importantly I am disregarding a vital piece of information from the equation and that is RESILIENCE. Humans are ridiculously resilient. I can attest to that personally. We have the ability to withstand a remarkable amount of paint and hardship while still managing to survive and even grow.
    I guess I've decided that if I were to say that I were damaged it would be incorrect. I have no way of knowing how I'm 'supposed; to be so I can only assume that this is it. It would also be incorrect to say I'm broken because it makes it sound like I'm made of something rigid and hard. In reality I'm soft and squishy and emotional. I can take a beating and still bounce back, I can manage to heal myself and be better for it and I can be flexible. Sound's more like rubber and last I checked, rubber doesn't really break. It stretches and warps and twists and turns but goes with the flow.
    Just go with the flow, be proud of where you are and where you have come from and don't see your scars as flaws, see them as battle wounds representing hurdles you've faced and come out still above water.
    You are just exactly the way you are meant to be. Perfect in all your you-ness. Scars and dents and bruises and all.