You feel alone. You feel hopeless, scared, insecure, and not good enough. You feel like people take you for granted. Or that you’re second-rate. You feel like you will be stuck here in this lull forever. You feel like no one else can relate to you, and you feel invisible.

I see you.

I see you at work, trying so hard to hold all the pieces together. I see you at school, making your grades look effortless. I see you out shopping, counting your dollars and hoping you have enough. I see you in church, on your knees, praying for an answer to a question that makes no sense. I see you in the coffee shop, wiping away tears, and just praying that life will get better. I see you holding it all together for everyone around you.

Please, don’t think that I don’t notice you.

This is for you, when you are trying to overcome the broken home that you’ve come out of. For when you feel alone in the world. When you lose a parent, a pet, a sibling or a best friend. This is for when you get your heart broken for the first, or millionth time. It’s for when your best friend chooses a boy over you, but you love her anyways. It’s for when you don’t feel like you fit in enough, but you don’t stand out enough, either. It’s for every time someone made you cry, or hurt you.

You are so much more than the struggle that you are in. You are more than the boy that left you, the friends that hurt you, or the imperfections you have. You look pretty without makeup on. You are one of the hardest-working people that I’ve ever met. You are so selfless, and will do anything to lift someone else up… Even if you’re drowning. Even if it hurts you.

And maybe, you’ll deny every single one of these things. Maybe you’ll say up and down that you’re okay, that you don’t need help, and that you’re just like everyone else. But you are so much more. You are a diamond in a pile of rocks. You are miles above the rest. And it sucks that you’ve had so much hardship in so few years. It sucks that you lost someone, whether physically or emotionally. It sucks that you’ve lost yourself so many times that you might not remember who you were to begin with.

But I promise you, things will change. And you will find yourself in the absence of your insecurities and your fears. Eventually, you’ll be walking around with a smile plastered on your face, and happiness will hit you like a load of bricks. Some things won’t change – some lost things can never be found – but sometimes, the absence of things makes your heart grow fonder. You will feel so much for everyone. Your heart will reach so many people, even if it’s just in a single glance. Things will change, and one day, you’ll be saying this all to someone else. Suddenly, you’ll be picking up a book from the library, and see a girl crying into her own. She may be younger or older than you, but your souls are intertwined. Because you can only imagine how she feels for the characters, or someone in her life that’s in a similar situation, or how she’s bearing the weight of the protagonist’s broken heart.

Look at her, and smile. Because maybe, no one has smiled at her today.

Smile, but don’t pity her. Love, but don’t smother her. Help her take off, but let her fly on her own.

This is for any girl who is where I used to be – one day, I promise that the heartbreak ends. I promise that you get answers to most of your questions. I promise that people will see and envy your strength, even when you don’t want them to. I promise that you will dance to songs with words you’ll never forget. I pray that you feel so much for someone that your heart hurts in the best way. Because pain is only temporary. To the girl who is where I used to be, don’t be afraid to not be okay. Don’t be scared to have too many questions. Don’t be scared to fall in love with someone, or to face your fears, or to make new friends. Don’t let people push you down because they don’t understand you.

I promise you, things will be okay one day. You will be strong, happy, and you will feel amazing. And you will look back, and be thankful for every unconventional thing that happened to you – because you only let it motivate you. Please, don’t give up now. I know it sounds tempting. But trust me, you’ll love the view you have once you’re where you need to be.

I have complete faith in you.