If I had the opportunity to write the younger me a letter, there would be quite a few things I would like to say. Things that may have helped me get through times that in those moments I thought I would not survive. If I was to write the younger me a letter, it would go a little something like this:
Dear you,
There are many things I wish I had known when I was younger. Many things that could have helped me become a better person or even just help me get through situations I did not know how to handle on my own. So here are some of the things I learned throughout the years.
Just because you do not look like other girls does not make you any less beautiful. It is who you are within that reflects how beautiful you truly are. As grandma always says, “It is not what is on the outside that makes you beautiful, but what is inside of you.” And even though you might not understand the loveliness and importance of that now, you soon will.
You do not have to be outgoing or act like everyone else for people to like you. I know it must be hard for you to get out of your comfort zone but once you do, the people who will truly see you for who you are will love you endlessly. There is no need to pretend to be something you are not because the real you is more beautiful than any other person you could try to be.
Your worth can not be determined by a boy. No matter how much you like him or think you cannot live without him, you can. Your worth does not lessen when a boy is unable to see it. Most importantly, do not stay with the boy that makes your stomach dance with butterflies one day, and make you feel like you are unlovable the next. Do not stay with the boy that is willing to make you feel bad about yourself so that he can look cool to his friends. Do not stay with the boy that does not make you feel like you are the only girl in the world every second of every day. Please, do not stay with him. You deserve better.
All of the boys throughout middle school and high school that made you feel like you were not good enough will one day look at you and wish they were nicer to you. You may not think you are beautiful now, but one day you will realize just how beautiful you have always been.
Go out of your way to make other people happy. Your happiness is not any more important than anyone else’s. You determine your own path, and by helping somebody else along the way, you could be helping yourself as well. You never know what a kind gesture could do. A kind heart and a kind soul are two of the most beautiful qualities one can have.
Spend more time with your family. I know how annoying they can get but those are the people that know you best and love you through all of your flaws. One day, you may wake up and realize you wasted all the time you had with the people you love because you were unwilling to just sit and talk with them.
Friends will come and go. Not everyone you consider your best friend is going to stick around. You will go your separate ways and that is okay. Your best friend will be someone who sticks around through the years, even if that means a little distance from time to time. Besides, you will find and make more friends who you might even become closer to.
There will be days that you feel insecure or unloved. Just remember how you got to where you are at that very moment. Without the love from the people around you, you would not have even been made possible. Believe me, you are very much so loved and wanted.
You are so extraordinarily beautiful and you always have been. You are more worthy of love and happiness than you will ever know. You must always remember that on the days you feel unloved, you most definitely are. Acknowledge how truly unique you are, because there is only one you in this world, and you are incredibly irreplaceable.
Sincerely, and much love from,
an older, a little wiser and always beautiful, you.
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." -Maya Angelou
