Dear future self,
We’ve been through so much over the past years of our life, but we clearly have made it this far. I know at this moment while writing this you may feel like you’re not the smartest, the prettiest, the bravest, or the most talented. It may seem like everyone is against you and nothing good will ever come to you because deep down you feel that you don’t deserve it.
May I ask, why do you feel this way? There are so many people out there who you truly inspire without your knowledge of it, just like there are others who inspire you without them knowing it.
There’s a saying that life gets harder and more depressing as you get older. I know you may feel this way because we have lost so many loved ones, experienced the pain of broken relationships, and discovered a great deal of failures. Most of all we have lost ourselves in the midst of the last moments we shared with our loved ones. We have experienced the pain of being broken inside from the lack of true relationships. We have discovered ourselves to be a failure by letting the negative things we say about ourselves make us feel incapable of feeling important.
But you are important. You are special. You are loved. You create poetry to express yourself when there is no amount of paragraphs that can describe the twirling emotions that you feel within. Sometimes the expression of a few words can tell some of the most important parts of a story because it leaves room for the audience to evolve their own interpretation. While you’re hoping that they can feel a connection, not only to the poetry you create that reveals a part of your story, but channeling that inner connection of how it relates to the reader’s own life. As a writer, I feel that it is important to always be aware of creating a space for readers to be able to draw connections to their story. Reading is an antidote to those who seek to be understood by and understand others. Once you start to deeply understand what others reveal to you about themselves, it can help you to express and reveal yourself in a way where others can start to understand you. This is all due to the connection that was made between you and them.
So when you feel like you’re not the smartest, the prettiest, the bravest, or the most talented, that other person you are comparing yourself to is probably thinking the same thing while they are comparing themselves to you. Honestly, the smartest person in the world probably doesn’t even know they’re the smartest, because they too would compare themselves to the next person while picking away at their own flaws. Remember you are human and we all have flaws. Some people are good at covering them up while others learn to freely let theirs out. Flaws aren’t necessarily bad, they are what make us stronger mentally, emotionally, and physically.
One of your favorite quotes that has helped you feel stronger is stated by Colin Firth in Bridget Jones Diary, “I like you very much. Just the way you are” (2001). This line in the British rom-com film has truly touched your heart because it inspired you to accept the flaws that are unchangeable, and also to work on the flaws that can be altered. Your flaws are what make you who you are and they can be defined as some of your greatest strengths, rather than weaknesses, when you overcome them.
Most times we can end up finding ourselves through the discovery of finding others. Always remember that our beginning isn’t our ending. What we’re feeling now is temporary and not permanent because life is filled with so many beautiful surprises! Just….
Breathe and Believe…..