a letter to my future daughter

A letter to my future daughter and/or my own inner child....

Dear Beautiful,

You are more than your accomplishments.

It is absolutely fantastic to get all A's, be captain of the sports team, or first chair for the instrument you play, or whatever else you may and will excel at. I do not want to diminish those accomplishments at all. In fact, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate because I know you worked so hard to achieve them! I am so very proud of you for that. I also want you to know that you are SO much more than your accomplishments. If tomorrow you fail a test, or get cut from your sports team, or have to give up your first chair, you are NOT giving up you. You are special and unique because of the qualities you possess and the person you are. You are amazing because you tried your best. You are more than what you do.

Your best does not have to be perfect.

On that same note, trying your best is what you should be proud of. If it's not an A or if you aren't absolutely perfect THAT IS OK. It is more than ok. It is beautiful. It is ok to be human, because (guess what?) you are. And humans are no where near perfect. Embrace your flaws. They make you special. Trying your hardest is something to be admired, no matter where you land. Trying your hardest deserves to be celebrated. You deserve to take breaks and reward yourself for hard work. You do not need to push yourself past your breaking point to achieve a goal. You can relax. Society will tell you that the people who never stop, push themselves too far, and achieve perfection are better in some way, shape, or form. But 99% of the time those people striving for perfection are not happy. They are overwhelmed and will still never achieve perfection because PERFECTION DOES NOT EXIST. Allow yourself to be happy. Take time for yourself. Put the best of you in every thing you do, and let that be enough. Because you are enough. YOU ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH.

You are beautiful, and do not have to change your appearance.

Society is rough. They have unrealistic standards of beauty. They tell you girls should look, dress, act, and be a certain way. And if you are not that way, there are ways to change to conform. This is how companies make money. It is not the truth. You are a strong, independent woman. And you do you! If you like to dress trendy, do it up. If you prefer sweatpants and t-shirts, there is nothing to be ashamed of- rock it girl! If you enjoy doing your make-up and being creative- go all out. If you think make-up is boring, rock a fresh face with no shame. Exercise is NOT a way to change or punish your body. It is a way to celebrate your body. Diets are a lie! They will never work. Your body truly does know what you need. Listen to it! Trust yourself! Somedays that will be a salad and some days it will be ice cream and potato chips and that is ok! The thing to remember is if you are altering your appearance for someone else- STOP. Whoever it is, no matter what, it is not worth it. Do what YOU like to do. Make you happy. When you are happy, you will radiate it and people will automatically be drawn to you. Also, never forget that you NEVER deserve to harm your body in any way, shape, or form. You are worthy of love, no matter what you look like, and that starts with yourself. Always love yourself, even on days when it is hard to.

Your thoughts are not the truth.

It's easy to believe every thing we think. But your thoughts are not always the truth, so you don't always have to believe them. In fact, you can change them! Sometimes you will think that you are not good enough- not skinny enough, not pretty enough, not athletic enough, not smart enough, not loveable enough- the list can go on and on and on. The truth is, no matter where you are in life, or what is going on in your life, you are enough. You will always be enough. When you have thoughts like these, catch yourself in the act. Tell yourself that this is not true. That you are loved and that you are enough. You are, and always will be.

Don't compare yourself to others!

A lot of these thoughts of never enough come from comparison to others. Comparison is the thief of all joy. There will always be someone that is more than you. That is just the way that life works. But that does not mean that you are not enough! It just means that you are different. There's a quote I will never forget that Stephen sent me once- It said something along the lines of "Don't compare yourself to others. Christmas lights and flowers are both beautiful, but they look nothing alike."

Don't be ashamed to be yourself.

Being yourself is the most rewarding thing in life. Don't be ashamed to do that! There will be people that will not like who you are. That's ok (and they are probably butt holes anyway :p)! You cannot make every one in this world happy, so don't even try. If you don't like the same thing as every one else, you don't have to pretend to. Changing yourself to fit in will never bring true happiness. And yes it sucks to be the outcast sometimes, but it sucks more to not be true to yourself. If you like something else no one else likes, who the heck cares? Some day someone out there will appreciate your quirks. I know I already do! Don't live to be liked, live to be happy. Keep your values close to your heart, and don't compromise them for anyone. You are a good person. You don't have to prove it to anyone. Trust yourself. And don't be afraid to feel. Feelings are never wrong. They are ALWAYS, ALWAYS valid. Feel them- never stuff them. Without anger and sadness, you cannot feel joy.

You are cherished. You are loved. You are special. You are beautiful. You are worthy. You are enough.

Love, Me