If you’re reading this, take a second to stop and breathe. And if you can, close your eyes. Feel this moment. Relish in it. Wherever you are, whoever you are, you made it. You are here on this Earth, you woke up this morning, and that is something to be proud of.

You are someone to be proud of, whether you realize it or not.

I don’t care if the world tells you otherwise. I know you may feel like you’ve failed or like you haven't reached your full potential. I know you put so much on yourself, and others do too, to succeed in everything you do, whether it be in your appearance, schoolwork, job, or grades. Well, this is your reminder that none of these things truly define you.

The you that you are, the you that people see is not defined by any of this. You are worthy regardless. Your worthiness has no criteria, it simply is. You being on this Earth establishes you as a human being worthy of all your heart desires.

You are made up of thoughts, feelings, emotions, hopes, and dreams, all of which encompass who you truly are.

I’m sorry if your vision gets clouded sometimes. I’m sorry if you are unable to see sometimes just how worthy you are. But just remember, you deserve the world. You deserve to live a life of love, a life where you feel loved and you love. This is what truly matters, not the latest test grade, your weight on the scale, your broken relationship. You deserve to feel full always, regardless of anything going on in your life on the outside.

And you are and can be full always, by you simply being, whether or not you notice this.

When you begin to live a life where you recognize yourself as worthy always, you may begin to take things less seriously. And this is important. What's the use in bringing ourselves down all the time? Wouldn’t you rather feel free to do whatever you choose? What would you do, where would you go, if you recognized yourself as fully capable? I think you’d be surprised to see where you may end up. Give yourself the permission, the freedom, to do all this.

You may wonder why I’m writing this.

You may think that me writing this means that I have everything figured out, that I am forever recognizing my worthiness.

Quite the opposite. I need this reminder just as much as any of you. I am hard on myself too. I put pressure on myself. I look in the mirror, at the work I have to do, with criticism, rather than compassion.

I’m proud to say that slowly but surely, I have been changing. I’m starting to realize that I’d rather be characterized by my smile or laugh, my nature, than the skin I live in, my grades or accomplishments in extracurriculars.

Because it is through myself and with myself that I can find fulfillment and worthiness, and once I find that, the rest will follow.

Of course, I still want to succeed and be successful, but I want to do so in a way that is kind to myself, that honors who I am as a person.

I still have a long ways to go, though, and maybe you do too. So, let’s change together. Let’s become committed to reminding ourselves of our worthiness every day, no matter what. Because we deserve to recognize just how far we’ve come, to recognize how much we’ve overcome, to make it to where we are today.

And we deserve to realize that the best is yet to come, that we have the potential to become even greater versions of ourselves, every day.

You are worthy. I am worthy. We all are.

Xo,

Sam