You've opened this because right now you need some encouragement. It's understandable! The beginning of a new year can be tough. You may say "it won't be like last year" but you quickly come to find yourself looking for some type of positivity. Well, here it is:

To my dear reader,

You are enough. You should never settle for less than what you are. You are fantastic. You are loved. You are precious. You are a child of God. You are you and no one can change that. Who cares what kind of negative things people have to say about you? In the end, it's all about what you think that matters. Dump those friends, SO's and anyone else who may bring you down, because you are so much more.

You are worthy. You are worthy of everything and anything life has to offer you. But just remember sometimes you have to let go of something good to make room for something great. People come and go. As much as it may hurt now, you will see in the future it was for the best. Some people are not meant to stay in your life forever but, they are meant to teach you important lessons good and bad.

You will succeed. Okay, so you may have failed a class or a test or a project. It's not the end of the world. You will graduate high school, you will go to your dream college, you will graduate and get your dream job. You will marry the person you're supposed to be with, you will have your own family, your own house, your dreams.

It's hard, but you will get through it. No one said it would be easy getting to where you want to be. Just remember behind every successful person there are years of failure and doubt, but family and friends who pushed them to where they needed to be. Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

Stop trying to please everyone. Stop fearing change. Stop living in the past. Stop putting yourself down. If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough.

Don't stop until you're proud.