“Old Friend, why are you so shy?”

Dearest Friend,


I have known you all my life, and no matter what you think, you are wrong. You cannot say you are right and here is why. You look at yourself with a distorted vision. You see yourself, inside and out, as sub-par. You think you are not good enough; you will never be good enough. It is my job to prove you wrong.


You tell me that you see yourself as an academic failure. You are not in the Top 10. You do not have straight A’s. You are dumb. Well you can tell yourself that all you want, but guess what. You can’t just leave out all the other stuff. You work hard. You are passionate about learning. You love to write. You live to learn, to argue, to create. Why do you beat yourself up? What’s a grade compared to passion?


I’m fat. I’m ugly. I can’t dance. Why do you say this? Is it because someone is telling you these painful words? No. It is because you can’t see past the picture of that perfect ballerina in your mind. You are so caught up with that tiny, porcelain figure that you don’t see what everyone else sees-a beautiful, blossoming dancer. You don’t see the girl who loves to dance. You forget that you dance because it makes you happy, because it puts you in total control of your body. You refuse to believe in your talent. Whenever someone praises you, you shake it off or pretend you don’t deserve it. You do. You do because you are a beautiful dancer. A dancer who deserves it.


I hate people. People hate me. I have no friends. Wrong again. You are one of the most caring people I know. You honestly work harder than anyone to see the good in people. You could look at the most hated person in the world and think, “God made this person” or “everyone was a baby once”. You do not hate people. And never think that people hate you, because they don’t. What you need to do is stop looking to other people for judgment. Stop valuing other peoples’ opinions over yours. They do not run your life, you do. If you let a person judge you, and you agree with them simply because you value them more then yourself, then they will keep raining down on you. That is called pressure. It’s the pressure you feel when you walk into a room with that person in it. It’s the pressure you feel when you stand in front of a crowd because you are scared of what they think of you. It’s the pressure of the world on your shoulders. It’s the pressure to be perfect. And it does not have to be there. It doesn’t matter if people agree with you or what you think. Say it loud. Say it proud. And do not look down. If people cannot respect you or what you have to say, they do not deserve you.


Everyday you tell me about how you hate your life. Stop. You have no reason to. Yes, you have a house, a family, clothes, whatever. But more importantly, you have a heart. You can find beauty in anything. Rain. A Song. A Word. A Person. You know how to use your talents to do what makes you happy, helping people. You invest your energy into pleasing people. You help them, teach them, comfort them. And they are grateful for this. Do not stop. This makes you happy, it makes them happy. It is a win-win situation. You need to remember that you are here for a reason, you have a calling. Use your talents, but don’t forget about yourself.

You are wrong. You do not have to be wrong. As a matter of fact you can be 100% right. You just need to take a step back and breathe. Close your eyes and think about what an amazing person you are. There is no need to pick out the flaws, how will that help you? Just think of all the incredible things you are capable of. Breathe girl. You can do this.

Love you forever,

Your very own heart, mind and soul.