Hey lady. Congratulations.

You threw your all into this and you got back what you put in. I'm so proud of you.

There have been so many times that you've been in this position; your heart beating so fast, butterflies in your stomach, you've poured your heart and soul into something you've wanted and been working toward for so long.

But then you fall.

You were so positive that position was yours. You knew in your heart that you worked harder and dreamed bigger and wanted it more than anyone who has even had the opportunity to try for what was just beyond your grasp. You felt it fall from your fingertips so gently like it was never even there. You knew you would catch it, you knew you would. And then you didn't.

Do you remember how hard you cried? Do you remember the pure hatred in your heart as the one thing you loved above all else became the one thing you hated more than anything? Do you remember all the things you would have done differently that would have, for an absolute fact, given you what you wanted? What you desired? What you knew was rightfully yours?

Do you remember that you still think about it each and every day? How your life would have been so different had you just not done that one thing?

You need to try and move past this.

I know it was your entire world and I know how badly it should've been yours. I know how badly you felt and how much infinitely more crushed you felt after everything you put your heart into afterward would crumble down around you. Without fail. Every single time.

But something happened this time. Something different.

"Believe in your hype." Remember who told you that? Your biggest failure. The one that threw you down with the pessimists after each failure you endured before and after them. Why do you still let their words ring in your ears? That why yes you should believe in your hype, you're just not good enough. And you never will be. That is what they told you.

But . . . It's exactly what your greatest success tells you to.

You listen to them more than you listen to yourself. You respect them and love them more than you do yourself. They told you to try one more time. They told you it was going to be hard, maybe one of the hardest things you've ever tried for in your life. I don't think they knew how absolutely crushed you would have been to fail under them. You've never failed them before. Not like you failed and failed and failed under him. But they did something different. They actually had faith in you. They actually believe in your hype. They actually care about you and want you to succeed.

And what did you do?

You did it. You made them proud. But more importantly? You made me proud.

You're starting to believe in yourself again. You're smiling more. You're happier now.

It's time to stop believing "your hype," as they would say.

But instead, it's time to start believing in you.

Always,

Cristina