1. Making a connection with another living creature can feel like the hardest thing in the world.
2. There's that first moment when you see each other...
3. And you really SEE.
4. "I knew someone like you had to exist in the world," you think.
5. "I didn't realize until I saw you, but I always knew."
6. And that's where the fear and the uncertainty kick in.
7. Because what if they don't feel the same way?
8. What if there's someone else?
9. Or too many voices and opinions rattling around in your ears?
10. Because how do you go about bridging that gap between what you say and what you feel...
11. ...and what THEY say and what THEY feel?
12. How do you control the part of yourself so desperate and hungry that it scares you?
13. There isn't really an answer.
14. Just be patient, as irritating as that sounds.
15. Keep the ones who already love you close by.
16. Regard each attempt not as a failure, but as another step closer to what you really need.
17. Channel that scrabbling energy into something just for yourself.
18. Just know that you are seen.
19. And that the best is yet to come.
