I’ve been writing From Liz, With Love for four years. I started when I was 20, and now, at almost 24, life has dealt me an extraordinary hand—one that has allowed me to share what I’ve learned about love, friendship, and the winding, unpredictable path of life.
As I work to end off this chapter—finishing my master’s, leaving behind a place and time that has shaped me in ways I’m still discovering—I want to share four things I’ve learned in four years.
1. Love is beautifully hard
Love cracks you open. It makes you feel seen, heard, safe. It can be all-consuming or quiet and sure, exhilarating or familiar. Love is like a favourite sweater—worn with time, shaped by care, frayed at the edges but softer for it.
Love isn’t just something you find, it’s something you build. And sometimes, no matter how strong the foundation, the walls crack, the roof leaks, and the structure you poured yourself into can’t weather every storm. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t real, or that it didn’t shelter you when you needed it.
Love can also undo you. It can leave you breathless, raw, aching in ways you never expected. And in those moments, love teaches you the most important lesson—you were always whole on your own.
Because in the end, the truest home you’ll ever have is the one you build within yourself. Don’t let love make you forget who you are. It should never ask you to shrink, to stay when it hurts, or to become someone you’re not.
2. Your friends can also be your soulmates
Here’s what I know about friendship—it’ll save your life.
Friendship will sit with you on the bathroom floor, taking off your makeup between sobs. It’ll let you scream in the enger seat, then text you, “Did you get home okay?” even though your location is on.
Friendship will listen to the same heartbreak, the same self-doubt, the same story, and still say, “Tell me again.”
It’ll pick up the phone at 2 a.m. with no hesitation. It’ll know when to show up and when to stand on the sidelines, cheering you on. It’ll squeeze your hand under the table when your voice shakes.
The right friendships will never ask you to shrink, to disappear, or to be less.
3. Look for the hearts
Therapy, and maybe a few too many wellness podcasts, have taught me we have more control over our minds than we think.
The overthinking, the doom scrolling, the days that feel too heavy to push through don’t have to consume us. The world is full of small reminders that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. You just have to notice them.
What’s worked for me is deleting social media, prioritizing my mental and physical health, and looking for hearts.
Author and podcaster, Mel Robbins, taught me our thoughts are powerful, and the world isn’t working against us but trying to guide us. So today, when you step outside, look for the hearts—hidden in the clouds, in your coffee foam, in the way sunlight filters through the trees. And when you find one, remind yourself it’s there for you to see, just like everything else good in your life.
4. Everything happens for a reason
Even the worst moments, especially the worst moments, will teach you something you never knew you needed. The storm will come, and you’ll feel lost in it, convinced nothing will ever change. But it does. The clouds break, the sun returns, and though the light might not stay forever, neither will the darkness.
Some lessons arrive gently, while others carve, or even stab, their way into you, reshaping who you are. But no matter how painful, every heartbreak, every detour, every unexpected ending is leading you somewhere. You’ll walk away stronger, wiser, and with a heart that knows how to keep going.
So here it is—my last From Liz, With Love at The Journal. A love letter to romance, to friendship, to everything that has broken me and stitched me back together again, including myself.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing in. Thank you for allowing me, month after month, to send a little love out into the world.
With my whole heart, I hope you find what you ‘re looking for. The world has everything to offer you—if you just look for the hearts.
With Love,
Liz
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