They’ll crop out the struggles.

Mute your silence.

Polish your pain until it fits into their version of who they think you are — or who they want you to be.

But here’s the thing: you kept the original file.

The raw version.

The one with the broken sentences, the blurry paragraphs, the parts where you cried mid-sentence, where you paused too long trying to breathe through the hurt.

The unfiltered file — where nothing was sugar-coated and everything was real.

After my stroke, I noticed how people around me tried to make sense of my experience. Some meant well.

Some tried to wrap it all in a pretty bow — “You’re strong,” they said.

“You’re doing great.”

“You’ve come so far.”

And while those words lifted me at times, they also made me feel like I wasn’t allowed to show the hard days.

But I kept the truth.

I kept the file of nights I couldn’t sleep.

Of mornings I couldn’t talk.

Of therapy sessions where my hand wouldn’t move, and neither would the tears.

Of questions that had no answers — like “Why me?” or “Will I ever be the same?”

They edited the version where I fell apart.

I kept the version where I put myself back together — piece by piece.

And here’s what I’ve learned:

Your truth doesn’t need to be approved.

It doesn’t need to be retouched, redrawn, or rewritten to be worthy.

Your truth is powerful because it’s yours.

If you’ve been told your story is “too much,”

If someone’s tried to rewrite your grief,

Or downplay your comeback…

Let them.

Because while they’re busy editing, you’re evolving.

And one day, when someone out there feels lost in their own broken draft of life, they’ll find your story — your real, unedited truth — and it will feel like a mirror.

A map.

A lifeline.

So don’t be ashamed of your original file.

It's messy, yes.

But it’s also honest, brave, and breathtakingly human.

Keep telling your story.

Keep the original.

Because that version?

It’s the one that saves lives — including your own.

Thank you, Teresa James, Poet & Author for your powerful words — “They edited the truth. You kept the original file.” — which inspired me to reflect deeply and write this facebook page from the heart.