A Love Letter to the Burnt-Out Twenty-Something

by Vittoria Marlone

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You are tired. I feel it in the way your laughter softens. I see it in the bags beneath your eyes — not from partying, but from trying. Trying to succeed. Trying to stay afloat. Trying to find meaning in a world that profits off your burnout.

You are not lazy. You are not behind. You are simply worn from carrying dreams no one else sees but you.

They told you to hustle. To "figure it out." To be exceptional. But what they forgot to tell you is: you are already worthy, even when you are unsure. Even when the plan unravels.

You are not a machine. You are a living poem. A tender miracle. A soul learning how to stay soft in a world that glorifies hardness.

So here is what I want you to know:

You were not made to grind until you disappear. You were made to create, to rest, to nourish, to laugh. Take a nap. Take a day. Take your power back.

The dark moments are not proof of your failure. They are the cocoon. The quiet season before flight. You are allowed to pause without quitting. Transformation needs time.

You don’t have to follow the map. You are the map. Every detour, every job you hated, every person who left — it’s all carving the road home to yourself.

Hold them like a child learning to walk. You are not meant to know everything. You are meant to discover.

You don’t have to have it all together. You just have to keep choosing yourself. Keep choosing your dreams, your softness, your courage to begin again — even when you're tired.

You are doing far better than you think. And no matter what, you are always…
Important. Loved. Blessed.

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