To The Shy, Timid, Dependent Girl,

I know you. I know you because I was you. I was the girl who never spoke unless I was spoken to. The girl who feared her loved ones leaving her. The girl who depended on others to make her feel worthy and loved. The girl who cowered in fear when alone in public, walking with her head down and avoiding eye contact. The girl who let everyone walk all over her like a doormat, welcoming people to wipe their dirty feet on her soul and choosing to bear the consequences for them.

This takes a huge toll on you. You try to put on a happy face for the sake of others around you--because after all, pleasing everyone else at the expense of yourself is the main goal. When there's nothing left to give, you start giving away pieces of your soul, breaking it off and pretending to not feel the effects wreaking havoc on your well-being.

But one day, you wake up and realize you've given everything you've ever had away to everyone else. And you're left standing in front of the mirror, unable to recognize the girl standing in front you.

This has got to be one of the worst feelings in the world. It leaves you confused, alone, sad, and fearful. What do you have left when you don't even have yourself?

Well, I'm here to tell you that you are still here. You're buried somewhere deep beneath the hurt and the pain.

I can say this because I am no longer that girl.

I am now the confident, independent woman who speaks when she wants to. The woman who knows that the ones who truly love her will stay. The woman who doesn't need anybody to make her feel worthy and loved because she knows her worth and how to love every inch of her being, inside and out. The woman who walks with her head held high down the street and smiles at strangers because life is such a beautiful thing. The woman who knows herself, her limits, and when to express those limits so no one takes advantage of her anymore. And simply, a woman who rebuilt herself into everything she ever wished she could be.

And this takes time. Growing into someone who can do things for herself and feel confident and worthy does not happen overnight, especially after years of spreading yourself so thin that you could no longer see who you are.

But if you truly let yourself and your past go, and rebuild who you are from bottom to top, the time and effort it takes is so worth it. You will feel the happiest and freest that you have ever been.

I'll leave you with this: it's OK to be be broken. But it's also OK to take the time to work on yourself.

Love,

Your Future Confident, Independent Self