To my little sister,

First of all, I love you. Second of all, you better read this or I'll tell mom.

In all seriousness, you said something the other day that has been bothering me since. Several times while doing our makeup together, you mentioned wanting a thigh gap. You kept showing me pictures of an Instagram beauty, insisting you wanted a thigh gap like hers. I have also seen you take multiple seflies, trying to find the best angle, sometimes settling on one and captioning it, "Ugly AF."

So I'm telling you to stop. Stop feeling that you're ugly, stop thinking that you need to have a certain body type. You are so beautiful and I wish you would see that! I do agree that the girl on Instagram is beautiful, but so are you.

I also want you to realize that women who do have thigh gaps have a certain body type. The shape of your pelvis, the speed of your metabolism, and even the length of your tendons to your thigh muscles all shape if you have a thigh gap. None of the women in our family are built to have a thigh gap; I am a size two and still do not have a thigh gap. A space between your thighs does not define your beauty or health. You can be healthy with or without a thigh gap.

I want you to be as proud of yourself as your family is. Watching the weight shed and your confidence boost has been absolutely amazing. I want you to look in the mirror and be able to tell yourself you are beautiful.

I'm sorry that you are at an age where there is so much pressure to look a certain way. I'm sorry that this generation feels that "likes" on a picture defines beauty. I'm sorry if you feel pressure to look a certain way.

Don't you ever think you are ugly. Even though I know you will because every girl does, do not compare yourself to other girls. Don't you look at models made of mostly photoshop and long to be like them.

Don't let anyone or anything hold you back from believing you are beautiful and strong. You want to wear more makeup than normal? Go for it, but make sure that eyeliner is on point? You want to try out for the football team? Go out there and do it.

Whatever you do, remember that you do not have to fit society's mold of beauty. You do not need to have a thigh gap or a tiny waist to be beautiful. Stay healthy and stay positive. I will leave you with a quote by Aibileen Clark from The Help:

"You is kind. You is smart. You is important."

I love you, little sister.

Love,

Your big sister