Chances are that we will never meet, and if we do, or have, chances are that you won’t admit that you read this. Maybe you’re having a really rough time at school right now, or maybe you just broke up with the love of your life. Maybe you lost your best friend, or you’re fighting with your family. Maybe you’re dealing with a different kind of loss, dealing with self-doubt, or maybe suffocating from your anxiety, or depression. Maybe it’s none of those things, but I will never know, because I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your name, your age, your hometown, anything. You also don’t know me very well, if at all. However, I bet we’re more similar than you’d think.

I bet you wake up every morning and instantly become overwhelmed. I bet you’re finding it hard to get out of bed lately. I bet you’ve been in a really awful mood that you just can’t seem to shake. I bet you keep telling yourself that nothing is wrong, and yet you’re finding it harder and harder to keep going through your day. I also bet, you haven’t told many people, if any, just how much you’re struggling. If you’re like me you don’t want to be a burden. You’re supposed to be the strong one, the one people can count on to make them feel better, and you don’t want to let them down. So instead, you carry this giant weight on your shoulders and hope that you don’t break down in a classroom of people, or the grocery store, or the elevator. When people ask you how you are, your first response is “just fine, I’m doing great,” but you aren’t.

I’ve been there, I still go there, and I’ll continue to end up there, because people like you and me carry everything that’s bothering us. We bottle it all up, because we’d rather drown than let someone else feel our pain. How can we help others if we show the world that we can’t even help ourselves? We’re supposed to be the strong ones, the ones that make everyone else feel better. The person who holds all the weight of their loved ones isn’t supposed to have cracks, right? Wrong.

It is okay that you are struggling, it is okay that you are not okay. I love you, and I have your back. You are not a burden, you are an amazing, magical, human who is under a little gray cloud at the moment. You are going on with your life, despite how god-awful you may feel, and that is something to be proud of. Yes, you are struggling, but you are still standing, you my friend are surviving. You are a badass. Repeat that. You are a badass. Say it again. YOU ARE A BADASS. Remember it, just like you need to remember that you are loved, even when you think you aren’t. Especially, because I love you, and I am proud of you, and I will always be standing in your corner.

I know we may never meet, and if we do, I know that we will probably not discuss this letter, but I’m hoping it helped. I’m hoping that the next time you feel like you just want to hide under your covers and cry your life away, you remember that there is at least one person who thinks you are amazing, and strong, and a total freaking badass!

All the good vibes,