Dear Best Friend:

You have had a rough year.

You have been beaten down, built up, and kicked down again. You have been faced with one obstacle after another, and time after time, you have stood up again. However, you have a tendency to be too hard on yourself. You beat yourself up for no reason, and continually make yourself feel bad for things that you can't control. You hold yourself to an unattainable standard, even for you. You always go above and beyond what anyone else expects or needs, yet you still feel inadequate. This needs to come to an end. You are enough. You are always enough.

You are one of the strongest people I know, and I know that I can always come to you for advice, so here is my advice for you.

Live for you, and not anyone else. Forgive yourself. Breathe. Have fun. Be young. Stop being so hard on yourself.

You are your toughest critic. You have been since the day I met you, and I don't think that you realize how amazing you really are. I don't think that you understand how much you are loved, looked up to, and cared for. I don't think you know how well you have handled everything that life has thrown at you, and how much I appreciate your ability to be real and honest in every situation.

You are one of the most inspiring people I have ever met, because you keep pushing yourself. After everything you have been through, you still step out of your comfort zone, set goals, and handle everything life throws at you.

You are such an incredible person, and you need to realize how amazing you are.Thank you for always being there for me, supporting me and believing in me. Thank you for always being honest with me, from my alarming ice cream intake to my frequent fashion fails. From midnight cry sessions, to waking me up for an early morning class, I know I can count on you. You can count on me too. I understand that you will always be hard on yourself, but I will always be right next to you reminding you of how amazing, intelligent, beautiful, incredible, and inspirational you are.

Take time to love yourself, listen to yourself, and believe in yourself again. Take deep breaths. Enjoy your surroundings. Have feel good cries. Do whatever you need to do to step out of this funk that you are in. And I know that it is a long process to love yourself again, but I will be there with you every step of the way. You have nothing to prove to anyone. You are enough. You will always be enough.

You're the Mike to my Sully.

I love you, you need to love you too.