A Beautiful Quote From Kahlil Gibran

Kahlil Gibran once said, "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

Now, how BEAUTIFUL is THAT! Now that is a quote that inspires me and makes me feel a little bit better about the suffering my soul has gone through and the scars that sear my body. How can anyone NOT be inspired by this quote? I heard it on Criminal Minds, which happens to be one of my favorite TV shows and they always have a quote or two on the show and this was one of them. It just hit me like a right hook from Muhammad Ali. I couldn't get it out of my head. I know that all this suffering I am going through only strengthens my soul and I want to believe that the most massive characters are seared with scars because that would mean that I would have quite a massive character and that is something to be proud of, I think.

Will my soul be strengthened by the suffering, the extreme suffering I have endured? Will my character be considered massive by others because of the scars, both emotionally and physically, that sear me? Or will I just be forever defined as a burn survivor?

I feel trapped in this scarred body. When will I be able to break free of those wrist and ankle shackles I once described feeling like wearing before and BE that massive character that everyone, including Kahlil Gibran in that beautiful quote, says I am? Thank you, everyone for saying such wonderful and beautiful and supporting things about me because I can't say them for myself. I look in the mirror and see nothing but a worthless, burned, scarred, scared, and lonely girl with tears running down her cheeks because of those things that she sees in the mirror. It's horrifying from my point of view. I used to love documenting my life and my friends with pictures and now I hide from the camera. And I look back at old pictures of me before I was burned and I just cry my eyes out. I looked happy in EVERY picture. And why wouldn't I? I was successful in school, had tons of friends, loved myself and my life and the prospects of my future. Now what do I have? I do have a wonderful family who has supported me through all of this and the most wonderful friends but I don't see those friends enough because I board myself up in my house and that whole, "loving myself and my life and the prospects of my future" part? Yeah, that's out the window because I certainly do not love myself anymore nor my life and have no prospects of a future right now, not that I can see.

So Kahlil Gibran, tell me, please tell me that your beautiful and inspiring quote applies to me because I need something beautiful and inspiring like your quote to help me look in the mirror, to help me face my days, to feel the strength building in my soul and to not let the emotional and physical scars hold me down but to let them build that massive character you talk about.