Echoes of the Garage

Fragments of life in Los Angeles — art, film, street stories, and the quiet rebuilding of a man. Start here: Best OfAboutSubscribe.


“I never realized I didn’t know how to love myself” 

📓 Thursday, May 14, 2026 — 5:37 p.m.

💬 Question

What’s a moment where you realized someone loved you… but didn’t really know how to show it correctly?

I’ve tried in the past to write in a way that sounded entertaining enough to read.

Because I never saw myself as a “real writer.”

But I have stories.

Thoughts.

A desire to express.

So now I just write the best I can.

And maybe with enough time…

I’ll get better.

I’ve been loved by family.

Friends.

Girlfriends.

But honestly…

I don’t think I ever realized I didn’t know how to love myself.

I was too busy finding faults in me.

Too busy feeling like I wasn’t enough.

Like I had to become something spectacular before I deserved to appreciate my own existence.

And lately…

that’s been changing.

Thank you that I exist.

Thank you that I can feel sadness.

Thank you that I can feel joy.

Thank you that mistakes can be fixed.

Thank you to whatever allowed me to be here at all.

Because one day…

I’ll go back to dust.

And honestly?

What an incredible thing it is to exist in the first place.

I think I’m finally starting to understand that loving yourself isn’t arrogance.

It’s giving yourself a chance.

That’s why I work out now.

Why I watch my food.

Why I write.

Why I’m starting to draw again.

Not because I suddenly became confident.

Because I’m finally starting to believe I’m worth the effort.

Even if I fail.

Because maybe failure isn’t proof that I’m worthless.

Maybe it’s just part of learning how to live.

💬 Reader question

Have you ever realized you were giving love to everyone except yourself?

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If this felt real… I write moments like this.



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