Believe it or not, I know what you are thinking when you open this. This is going to be very cliché and target subjects you think you can’t relate to. If you are thinking this, I’m not writing to you. This is a letter for all of those who need someone to relate to, someone who knows exactly what you are going through.
Life can be very tough and there are times that you are faced with situations where even though you are giving everything you have, it just isn’t good enough, and you know what? That’s okay. We are all human beings. We all have flaws and setbacks that other people may not, but that’s really what makes us unique.
Let’s back up for a second and look at the big picture. What makes us feel undesirable, unsuited, or damaged? I’d say society’s standards but you probably already knew that. Instead, I’m going to throw you a curveball: It’s because you care. You try your absolute best to get a good grade on your paper, lose a couple pounds for the summer, or get that playing time in the sport you’ve played your whole life. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out in your favor and honestly, what can you do? We are human and automatically hide our setbacks from the world. We make excuses about our shortcomings and in many worse cases, make fun of others because we are jealous. Instead of working harder, we settle for what we have and expect that to be all that we deserve in life. Surprise! It’s not. The only thing you don’t deserve is what you don’t try to achieve yourself. That is the harsh reality of this life. Sure, there are silver platters that you wish were given to you, but they just aren’t. As soon as you are able to accept that, your eyes can be opened to all sorts of possibilities.
Maybe school isn’t your thing, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t smart. So that last game you played, you made a couple of errors, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t made equally amazing plays before. As the wise words of Hannah Montana’s hit song once said, “Nobody’s perfect. I gotta work it, again and again ‘till I get it right.” (I never said this letter wasn’t going to be cheesy.) Sure, there are some things that you need to work on to get better at, but at the same time there are some things that you just need to accept: your body is beautiful even if you’re petit or plus, tall or short, muscular or chubby. You are your own worst enemy when you look in the mirror.
Instead of focusing on the great things we can do, we get angry at what we can’t do or what we don’t have. That state of mind is what we have grown to accept in these times. With that said, it doesn’t mean we can’t change. Society is slowly starting to shift and the things that we once would have shunned each other for, we are starting to accept. My advice is very simple: If you ever think that you aren’t good enough, or pretty enough, or popular enough, you’re wrong. No one is better at being you than you. Take that and use it as an advantage. So you’ve got a little extra around the waist, but I’ll be dammed if you think you can’t work those jeans. Who cares if your (ex) boyfriend or girlfriend sought out new horizons? That's their loss, not yours. It is the little things that can get you through the day. Sooner or later, the more you are able to look at yourself and see that you are not as bad as you tried to make yourself seem, life gets a little better. By no means is it perfect and there will be harder times to come, but if you help yourself with the little things first, that is one less thing you need to worry about in the future. And who knows, you could discover a newfound confidence that you never knew you had, and you can use that to your advantage. There is one thing that you must always remember: Someone will always be prettier than you, someone will always be smarter than you, and someone will always be better than you, but they will never be you.
