Dear You,

Yes, you. You who is reading this. You, with your eyes so bright and positive. You, with a smile that puts me at ease and makes me feel as if I can do anything. You, with a soul as deep and beautiful as the the ocean. Yes, you. I don't feel the need to address you by name, because I have a feeling you know who you are.

Yes, this is for you.

This letter contains all the words I forget to say when we are together, all my thoughts when we are apart yet you are still on my mind. This letter is for you, because everyone deserves to know just how much they mean to another person. Yes, this letter is for you, the one staring at the computer screen wondering if I am, in fact, speaking about you. This letter is for my inspiration, the person I admire, the one who's voice I imagine reassuring me when I feel like a failure, the person who I channel when I need strength, this is for you, because everyone deserves to know when they inspire someone, especially you.

When I met you, I was slowly but surely making my way down a path of crippling self destruction, I just didn't know it yet. My mind was clouded by irrational thoughts and distorted images of myself. I no longer was seeing or maintaining the version of myself that I had grown accustomed to, which only made the destruction even more catastrophic. Like a girl possessed by the most evil of devils, I punished my body through deprevation and pushing myself to the point of exhaustion, and yet I continued. Always pushing myself further, taking away the things that the devil told me were toxic, slowly reaching a breaking point, getting closer and closer to a wall that I eventually crashed into. While I still have the scars from this collision, I love them because they remind me of what brought you into my life. There are no words in the English language sufficient enough to express how meeting you changed my life. I can only say that you saved me from a version of myself that I no longer recognize, and even that does not do it justice.

I've said it once, and I will say it again, but it is crazy that we were mere strangers just months ago, because now I don't want to even imagine my life without you in it. As we grew closer, I watched as you walked into a darkened room and instantly lit it up with just your presence. I observed as people gravitated towards the positive energy that radiated off of you. I saw the immeasurable strength that you possessed, both physical and emotional, and how you were strong when others could not be. I realized that you were the definition of a confident, independent woman, for whom "failure" was not an option, ever. For the first time, I felt myself staring at a woman I hoped to one day embody in every sense of the word. A woman who had the power to lift people up when they were at their lowest points. A woman who refused to believe and succumb to negativity. A woman who's heart and soul were as big, as deep, and as beautiful as the ocean, using her waves to calm even the most anxious of individuals around her. For the first time, I came to understand what it meant to admire someone, to envy a person in a way that was not a reflection of the ugly green monster of jealousy, but rather a beautiful envy that would lead to positive, necessary personal growth. For the first time, I was truly and undeniably inspired, and the source of this inspiration, was you.

So, you say you want to change the world. You say you want to change lives. You say you believe you are destined for greatness. I am here to tell you that you will change the world, because you've changed mine. You will change lives, because you have without a doubt changed mine in ways that I cannot put into words, sentences, or paragraphs. You are destined for greatness because you have already proven yourself to be more than a "great" individual. As I speak these words, I am speaking for dozens of other people who's lives you have touched, souls you have healed, worlds you have changed, and hearts you have forever left your fingerprints on, which will never, ever, fade.

So, whenever you feel lost in this oftentimes unrelenting world, or frustrated with how your life is going, or confused as to what God's plan is for you, remember these words: you are greatness, you are strong, you are a change maker, a life-changer. You are a chaser of dreams, a woman with a heart of gold, a soul made of all the beautiful things in this world, a mind filled with wisdom, a body with the firmest head on its shoulders. You are admirable, you are valuable, exceptional.

And when you find yourself feeling small, or insignificant, or wondering if what you're doing with your life makes a difference, remember that shy, insecure, self-destructing girl that you first met, and how she blossomed into a more confident, happy, positive, healthy, and beautiful individual and know that this transformation occurred because she met someone who lit a fire within her, someone who inspired her, and know that someone is you.

Thank you, for everything and more...and if I haven't told you lately, I love you,

Sincerely,

Me