My 12-Year-Old Self Thinks I’m Pretty Badass: Inner Child Healing

The version of me who holds both the deepest ache and the wildest magic?

She’s twelve.

That was the age I felt the most abandoned, not just by people, but by possibility. By safety. By joy.

And yet, that was also the age I dreamed the loudest.

Dreams so vivid I can still taste them if I stop long enough to listen.

So I started honoring her, not just in therapy or writing, but in how I live.

In the way I cut my hair.

The music I dance to barefoot in the kitchen.

The snacks I make on a Tuesday just because she liked them.

I design my life to make her proud, because sometimes she’s the only one who remembers what I’m made of.

She knows the fire.

She remembers the dreams.

She sees through the noise.

When I feel lost, I ask her what she sees in me.

She never hesitates.

Learning to listen to her has become the core of my inner child healing.

A Slice of Humble Pie

You can build a life that makes your inner child feel safe, seen, and excited again.

Reflection

What version of you still feels abandoned?

What did they love?

Where can you make space for that in your playlist, your closet, your kitchen, your calendar?

Affirmation

I honor the girl I used to be by living a life that lights her up.