Cracks in the Window, Light on My Leaves

“Cracks in the Window, Light on My Leaves”
by Tiffanie Chin

It didn’t happen all at once—
healing rarely does.
But one day,
in the middle of noise and shadows,
I cracked open a window.

The air was different.
Gentler.
Like truth was sneaking in
through the smallest courage I had left.

This plant—
it’s me.
Still rooted in a room that tried to dim me,
but stretching anyway,
reaching toward something better.

Anxiety used to curl around me
like smoke—
invisible but choking.
And self-doubt?
It built walls inside my own mind,
until I didn’t know what was real.

But every breath I chose to take,
every thought I challenged,
was a leaf that said:
“I’m still growing.”

Now I don’t wait for silence to bloom.
I grow in the noise.
I choose light even when the curtain fights it.
And I remind myself—
just opening the window
was already a win.

This is my fresh air.
This is my peace plant.
This is me,
finally believing I deserve to breathe