To The Girl That Is Always Too Hard On Herself,
When you were younger, you were carefree and reckless and unafraid to fall. As you got older, you let yourself become obsessed with finding perfection, and you let this obsession consume you. This obsession, this voice in your head telling you that you can always do better, has led you to many sleepless nights.
I know that you spend too much time sitting at your desk, illuminated only by the glow of your lamp, notes piled in front of you, and surrounded in silence.
I know that you spend too much money on coffee in order to keep awake and not enough money on the small things that give you joy.
I know that you beat yourself up when you get an A- on an assignment and tell yourself that you’ll do better—that you’ll be better next time.
I know that you cry to your mom on the phone because you’re beyond overwhelmed and stressed out, and I know that it doesn’t make you feel better when she tells you to just do the best you can do, because you know what you’re capable of, and you know that it isn’t this.
I know that your dreams are filled with vocabulary words, equations, and song lyrics and that your reality isn’t any different.
I know that you feel as if you should’ve said more to make your friend feel better when she was upset, that what you said, and the advice you gave, wasn’t good enough.
I know that you hate when you head for the fries instead of the salad bar.
I know that you look in the mirror and wonder if the people that you surround yourself with, see you how you see yourself.
You’ve been bullied and taken for granted for most of your life, and that pain created your worst enemy: YOU.
For you, enough is never enough, but what you don’t seem to realize is that your 80% is still several levels above most people’s 100%.
You have set unbelievably high standards for yourself, and inevitably, you cannot achieve everything you hope to do.
When that happens, I hope you know that that doesn’t mean that you have failed.
It means that you are human.
You shouldn’t stop giving your all because you wouldn’t be satisfied with that, would you?
That’s how you’ve always been, and that’s how you will always be.
But it’s important for you to realize that you won’t find happiness in a job, or because of a boy.
You won’t find it in your books or in the countless clubs and extracurriculars that you join.
You won’t find it in a flawless and unblemished GPA, and really, is that GPA worth it if it means that you feel as if the smallest breeze could blow you away?
You’ll find happiness by taking one day at a time, step by step, and by learning to love yourself.
You’ll find it by realizing that not every class, not every thing you try, will come easily to you, and you’ll learn that that’s OK.
You’ll find it by realizing that although your Facebook status reads “single,” you are loved and irrevocably cherished by your family and friends.
You’ll find it by closing some doors, and opening others, and you’ll find it by realizing that the mountains you’ve been carrying, were only meant to be climbed.
Sincerely,
Someone Just Like You.
