I just finished watching Eric Dane: Famous Last Words on Netflix, and it made me think about what my last words to the world would be.

One thing I know for sure — they would not be filled with sadness.

Even on my last day, I would want to encourage someone. I would want my final words to remind people to think outside the box.

Most of my life was lived inside a bubble. My warrior — better known as my mom — did what she thought was best. She protected me. But protection and preparation are two different things. Protection kept me safe. Preparation teaches you how to stand when the world doesn’t see you as capable.

And the world saw me as a “fat no.”

Too disabled.

Too emotional.

Too much.

Not enough.

For a long time, I let those no’s echo in my head.

But somewhere along the way, I got tired of shrinking.

As I grew into the woman I thought I was becoming, I made a decision: I would turn those fat no’s into undeniable yeses.

Not perfectly.

Not overnight.

But intentionally.

I challenge myself every day now. Not because I need to prove anything to anyone else — but because I refuse to believe words that once made me question myself as a person.

If I ever had to leave this world, I would want my last message to be this:

You are not the “no” they handed you.

You are the “yes” you choose to build.

And if I can do that — inside this body, inside this chair, inside this life — then you can break out of whatever box they tried to seal you in.

Because at the end of the day, the world doesn’t get the final word over me.

I do.