When reflecting on all the things that have shaped you, the bits of stardust that create your soul, there are people, experiences, moments that swirl inside you playing their part in the person you are.

You think of your childhood memories, that time you saw your parents cry for the first time or when you realized that they only loved you in a way that was comfortable to them. You remember that fight with your brother that could never be reconciled and now you barely even talk. You remember the countless times you walked out the door because the words “if you don’t like it you can leave” were burned into you brain as the only option when you were dissatisfied.

You remember your first best friend. A person outside of your blood that wanted to spend time with you. You recall the times spending hours on end creating secrets only you share. Little moments that still make you smile now as you look back. They were a sanctuary found outside of a house no longer a home. The best friend that made you feel like yourself and that they liked you for you and that was important.

You wonder about your first love. You think back to the moment when you first realized what was happening to you, the adrenaline, the heart racing, the insatiable desire to be around them constantly, how difficult it is to look at their face without blushing. How you could listen to them all day and never be bored. They filled your every thought and you couldn’t be happier. You think of how magical that is and how you thought it was a love that would last forever, until it didn’t.

You remember your first break-up, not with a lover but with someone more valuable, a friend. You remember the feeling of being thrown away, reinforcing an idea you had long since forgotten. You wonder if you could have saved it. You realize that there was no way you could have. You remember the ripping pain, the unbearable ache of not knowing what you did wrong or how it became so splintered. Because to you, everything was fine.

As you float through the universe, you travel with these moments connected to you on strings. They are taken with you as you navigate new experiences. Each person shaped you in their own way, whether you wanted it or not. They resonate with your soul and little bits of their stardust mingles with little bits of yours, creating a universe around you.

A universe that is all your own.