breathe.

a letter to myself & you

see this. and understand it.
you are beautiful.
seriously. i'm not just saying this.
you're absolutely gorgeous the way you are.
everyone is.
but what you need to understand is that it doesn't matter what you look like. it doesn't matter what society's standards are, or what you think, or what anyone else thinks. you are so so so kind and funny and smart and giving and loving and a million other things you don't believe.
you are powerful. maybe not like others-- yours isn't the loud, extravagant kind-- but you are. soft and quiet is powerful, too. there is a fire and electricity inside you that, although only presents itself to the rest of the world sometimes, burns strongly and brightly. that is your power.
you don't believe it, i know. but it's the truth and all the shit in your head is wrong. they're just thoughts. not facts. you don't have to listen to them. you have total permission to love yourself every damn day, and you should.
despite what the world says, beauty is not one-size-fits-all. if you are tiny, you're beautiful. if you are average, you're beautiful. if you are big, you're beautiful. and so on. every little thing about the way you look is great and it makes you unique. No one is "perfect" (whatever the fuck that is) and everyone is their own kind of beautiful.
you struggle, yes, and you're still clawing your way to self acceptance. it's taken your entire life and probably will take the rest of it, but you're getting there. you're trying incredibly hard, even when it seems impossible.
believe that you can. everyone is insecure and nobody has their shit together, regardless of what you think.
what you look like isn't important. it's really not. what you look like doesn't cause you to do well in school. it doesn't cause you to write or sing well. it doesn't cause you to heal people and lift them up. it's just one thing. it doesn't define you.
your performance in athletic activities, your clothing size, little trivial things like that? none of it matters. what matters is the way you live and love and grow.
and you do just that. spectacularly.
what you look like doesn't make you who you are and it sure as hell is not what important people notice or care about first.
they care about YOU.
you are loved and seen and heard and important and breathtaking.
it will take a while to get this. but just remember it, keep it tucked inside and close to the dark corners of your brain so when you travel to these places, you can always come back.
many people are always here and rooting for you, and you should join them. you're a once-in-a-lifetime lil human and words cannot express how cherished you are.
you are safe.
b r e a t h e.
you got this.