a letter to sadie

The people we grew up trusting are the ones that hurt us most. How are we supposed to trust on an individual basis if we’ve never seen it work?

dear sadie,

your words have echoed in my head for weeks now, with each repetition being a punch in the gut thanks to the truth and hurt you were able to convey in mere 29 words.

maybe like you, although I'm not sure where your pain comes from, I come from a broken home and have experienced an almost embarrassing amount of trauma with friends and partners. as you may imagine, the arrogance of my youth made me believe that I could only trust someone as long as they never did anything to hurt me – intentionally or not. now, I'm not so sure where trust lies and what makes someone trustworthy. does love need trust and vice versa? is trust an adjustable concept? where should I aim for trust and where should faith come in instead?

I can't pretend to have simple answers to one of the most complex questions one can ask about the human experience, and neither do I think that is what you're looking for. so let me ask you: what does trust look like to you?